WILLEMSTAD, AMSTERDAM – Raily Bart (39), the Curaçaoan detainee suspected of involvement in the assassination of Dutch crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, will remain in custody in the Netherlands. The Court of Appeal has rejected his lawyer’s request to suspend his pre-trial detention.

The Public Prosecution Service considers Bart a key suspect in orchestrating the July 6, 2021 murder. He is also accused of participating in a criminal organization and committing fraud. Prosecutors allege that Bart directed his network from a prison cell in Curaçao.

During the hearing, which Bart attended via video link from Curaçao, he repeatedly invoked his right to remain silent. His defense argued that there is no concrete evidence against him and that, given his existing 20-year sentence, he poses no flight risk. The court, however, dismissed these arguments.

The case will return to court on December 16, with substantive hearings scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. Since April, Bart has been held at the Extra Secure Facility (EBI) in Vught, the Netherlands’ highest-security prison.

Bart is well known in Curaçao as a member of the No Limit Soldiers criminal organization and was previously convicted for his role in the 2014 shooting at Hato International Airport. The trial is being closely followed in both Curaçao and the Netherlands, as the murder of De Vries shocked Dutch society and drew international attention.