Judges in Rotterdam will start hearing the case against former top criminal lawyer Inez Weski on Tuesday, but she will not be in court to defend herself.

Weski, 69, is accused of passing information to and from her former client, drugs kingpin Ridouan Taghi, while he was being held in solitary confinement at the Vught high-security prison.

She is also accused of membership of a criminal organisation.

Weski’s alleged involvement came to light during the trial of Taghi’s nephew and lawyer Youssef, who was first accused of leaking information. Messages between Taghi’s family members which were used as evidence in that trial appeared to show the involvement of a second person who was passing information on.

That parallel communication was provided by Weski, Youssef’s lawyers said in open court. He was later jailed for 5.5 years.

Her arrest after a public prosecution department investigation shocked the Dutch legal circuit and the criminal investigation ended her 45-year career.  

Weski herself has refused to comment on the speculation and the accusations, saying it would break attorney client privilege.

After she was released from jail in June 2023, Weski’s own lawyers issued a short statement saying that she had not given a statement to the police during questioning because she is bound by the legal system’s confidentiality agreement. Nor will she do so in the future, the lawyers said.

Taghi was jailed for life at the end of a long investigation for his role in six murders and four attempted killings last year.