Letter lawyers about investigative methods, 'fair trial at stake'

More than a hundred criminal lawyers express their concerns about new investigative methods by the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The Public Prosecution Service would not be open about the method of seizing, tapping and hacking encrypted communication services.

As a result, the right to a fair trial and the right to privacy are at stake, the lawyers write. Meanwhile, decrypted messages play a key role in countless criminal cases. This ranges from relatively small cases to the trial of Ridouan Taghi.

The lawyers say they endorse "the social benefit of new, advanced investigative methods", but at the moment there is a lack of transparency about this, according to them.

As a result, the lawyers say they are unable to properly check whether evidence has been obtained lawfully and whether it is reliable. Judges would systematically reject requests to do so.

"That is pressing", the lawyers write, "because in the meantime strong, factual indications have become known that fundamental human rights have been violated or are at risk of being violated".

'Boundary reached'
Normally, the lawyers say they only rule on individual cases. But now "a limit has been reached", they write. "The social importance of a good administration of justice is simply too great."

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service says in a response to Trouw that he is aware of the allegations in the letter. "To date, the use of cryptodata in criminal proceedings has been found lawful by successive judges, following the OM." He declined to comment further on the matter.