AMSTERDAM - The wrong men are on the suspects' bench for murder of a 23-year-old package delivery man in Amstelveen. The prosecution wants two elderly men to be convicted, but lets the real perpetrators walk. That harsh reproach was made by the defense of 72-year-old Lech T. to the prosecution during the second day of the criminal trial in the Amsterdam District Court.

On Monday, the prosecution demanded 18 years in prison against 73-year-old Zeev J. and 14 years against Lech T. for involvement in the murder. According to the defense, the prosecution suffers from tunnel vision and twists and turns to get the old men convicted. As a result, the real perpetrators are still at large.

'Naive old man'
What motive might Lech T. and Zeev J. have had for killing a 23-year-old young man they did not know? According to his lawyers Bo te Baerts and Serge Weening, Zeev J. is "a naïve old man who wanted to earn a little extra money by observing someone on request. He thought it was about relationship problems."

When the package delivery man was shot dead before his eyes, he was shocked. "It was dark, he was alone and didn't dare refuse when the gunman asked him to join him in lifting the body into the van. Someone who had just shown that he did not shy away from shooting someone in cold blood," Te Baerts said.

Like Lech T.'s lawyers, Te Baerts felt that there are still many unanswered questions in the dossier. "Zeev J. was perhaps a subpart of a much larger plan. But that has not been investigated."