Police and justice fear a very violent liberation attempt to get Ridouan Taghi from the Extra Secure Institution (EBI) in Vught. Even before his arrest in Dubai in 2019, Taghi is said to have already made plans and paid money to be released from prison.

This is apparent from information from a decision of the appeals committee of the Council for the Application of Criminal Law and Youth Protection (RSJ) this spring, which De Telegraaf reported on for the first time. Taghi's lawyers appealed against the decision to extend Taghi's imprisonment once again in the Vught institution.

A cousin of Taghi is said to be looking for people to carry out the outbreak, according to information from the Criminal Intelligence Team. "We would be looking for a mediator who will receive several tens of millions of euros for this," the ruling reads. There would also be a command group, possibly from the Balkans, with heavy weapons at its disposal.

Kidnapping Dutch diplomat
According to De Telegraaf, Taghi would also have ordered an investigation into whether a Dutch diplomat could be kidnapped in Africa to serve as change for his release. This plan is seen as realistic by the investigative services and taken very seriously.

His lawyer Inez Weski says in a response to the newspaper that the information on which the RSJ relies "probably outdated rumours. To date, there has been no evidence of an escape attempt."

Social risk
A threat report has also been drawn up in the RSJ's ruling. Based on information from the Criminal Intelligence Team (TCI), it then became clear that a very violent escape attempt might be made.

Partly for this reason, the appeals committee rejected the lawyers' appeal. Taghi, the ruling states, "is an unacceptable social risk in the event of escaping".

The EBI in Vught where Taghi is now held is a kind of prison within a prison. It is so heavily guarded that no one has ever escaped: