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Dutch MP complains about ‘light prison regime’ of Kinahan pal ‘The Belly’

“He has a connection with the notorious Irish Kinahan clan, which focuses on importing drugs and weapons.”

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A prominent Dutch politician has questioned the “light prison regime” of ‘The Belly’, a Kinahan gang associate – saying he believes should be in maximum security.

Ulysse Ellian (34), a Member of Parliament, has spoken with Dutch news outlet, Panorama, to voice his concerns over the contact Naoufal Fassih has with other prisoners.

“He has a connection with the notorious Irish Kinahan clan, which focuses on importing drugs and weapons. Can someone tell me why this man is not staying at the EBI?” Ellian said.

The EBI is a maximum security facility in Vught in the Netherlands.

Fassih was busted staying at an expensive safe house on Baggot Street in Dublin back in 2016.

He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison by an Amsterdam court for provoking the murder of an Iranian electrician, named Ali Motamed.

‘The Belly’ had also already been sentenced to 18 years in the slammer for an attempted murder in Diemen in 2015.

“He has been an important key player in Ridouan Taghi’s criminal network,” Ellian continued.

“After his arrest, he briefly spent time in the Intensive Supervision Department of the prison in Leeuwarden, a kind of EBI-light, but later he was transferred to the prison in Arnhem.

“Under an even lighter regime. As far as I know, he still resides there. I’m afraid he may have frequent contact with the outside world and with other prisoners there,” Ellian added.

The Dutch politician and lawyer is concerned that when a detainee has been behaving well for an extended period of time, they can quickly be allowed to go onto a more lax regime.

“Why are detainees who have, or have had, a leading role within a criminal group, not standardised in a regime in which contact with other detainees and the outside world is as limited as possible?

“As a Member of Parliament, it is not up to me to determine in which department Naoufal should serve his sentence, but surely someone like him should not have the opportunity to plan new attacks through his contact with the outside world or with fellow detainees?”

Ellian is wary of naivety from prison officials and cites Benaouf A. as an example, a criminal who allegedly ordered the killing of a rival using encrypted messages from prison.

“Don’t take any chances. That’s what I advocate. Or should we wait for the next death? Look at a prisoner like Benaouf A. He has managed to recruit so-called hitters from prison with a smuggled smartphone and give them horrifying murder assignments.

“He was also not in the EBI. I do see awareness growing in the Netherlands, but that robust foundation is still missing,” the politician added.

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Fassih was using a fake name when he answered the door to gardaí in Dublin in 2016, but his fingerprints were matched to his real name through Interpol.

€83,000 worth of designer watches and more than €12,000 in cash were seized during that raid.

After his arrest, he was housed at Mountjoy and then Portlaoise prison where he mingled with the Dundon brothers, John, Dessie and Wayne, before being extradited to Holland via helicopter.