The Prosecutor in the case against Walid has agreed to meet a representative of Walid’s victims to discuss how the voice of the victims can be heard in the case.
A key hearing in the case against Tewelde G., known to us as Walid/Welid, is taking place on Monday 13 November at 09:30 at the court in Zwolle, The Netherlands. Walid is accused of violent migration crimes. So far, the victims have not yet been able to have their voices heard in this process, even though 191 witnesses have contributed a statement to the prosecution.
We have been hearing from victims of Walid’s criminal network and also victims of other key traffickers such as Kidane and many more; they are starting to ask how they can play a role in the justice process. Every Eritrean is either a victim of these traffickers, or has a loved one whom they had to pay ransom for.
We want to stop the impunity for the crime of trafficking refugees. We want to prevent any more from falling victim to these networks, organized by high-level Eritrean traffickers with links to the Eritrean regime; and we want to help our Eritrean community to heal.
The conversation with the Prosecutor on Monday will only be the start of a broader conversation with the whole community about how to make our voices heard in this process, and in other processes, such as the International Criminal Court investigation.
The court case on Monday 13 November at 09:30 is open to everyone interested to join.
