{{Short description|Dutch lawyer}} '''Bram Zeegers''' (15 March 1949, in Amsterdam – 9 October 2007, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch lawyer. Zeegers was a key witness in the 2007 murder and extortion trial of suspected crime boss Willem Holleeder. Holleeder was on trial for the 17 May 2004 murder of Dutch real estate businessman Willem Endstra.<ref name=ex>{{cite news |title= Holleeder trial resumes |url= http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=45156 |work= Expatica |date= 2007-10-22 |access-date= 2007-11-09 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Holleeder is also suspected of blackmailing several other businessmen.<ref name=ex/>
Zeegers testified in court over two days that Holleeder and his associates had extorted millions of dollars from Endstra between 2000 and 2004.<ref name=ex/> He also testified about the tense relationship between Holleeder and Endstra before the latter was shot and killed near his offices in Amsterdam on 17 May 2004. Holleeder had maintained that he and Endstra had an amicable relationship.<ref name=ex/>
==Death== Zeegers was found dead in his Amsterdam apartment, less than one week after he had testified at Holleeder's trial.<ref name=dn>{{cite news |title= Holleeder witness died of drugs overdose |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/10/holleeder_witness_died_of_drug.php|work= Dutchnews.nl |date=2007-10-12 |access-date=2007-11-09}}</ref> The sudden and unexpected death of Zeegers led to speculation that he may have been murdered and received much coverage in the Dutch media.
However, Zeegers was found to have died of an accidental overdose of the drug ecstasy.<ref name=dn/> According to a story in the Dutch newspaper, Volkskrant, Zeegers was found to have ecstasy in his body that consisted of 97% pure MDMA, which is extremely high.<ref name=dn/> The chances of dying from an MDMA overdose is around one in 100,000.<ref name=dn/> Zeegers' Brazilian girlfriend, who bought the drugs, was held in connection with the case before being released, though she remains a suspect.<ref name=ex2>{{cite news|title=Zeegers' girlfriend released|url=http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=45249|work=Expatica|date=2007-10-24|access-date=2007-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025000030/http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=45249|archive-date=2007-10-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> Three suspects in all were arrested and held in connection with the production of the drug that killed Zeegers.<ref name=dn/>
No connection between Zeegers' death and his testimony in the Willem Holleeder trial has so far been found.<ref name=ex/> Zeegers' death is now widely regarded as an accidental overdose.<ref name=ex/>
The trial resumed on 22 October 2007, after a recess to investigate Zeegers' death.<ref name=ex/>
==Legacy== In March 2013, Neal Stevens of Subsim introduced the monthly Abraham award on the site, in memory of Zeegers, who had been a member of the site.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeegers, Bram}} Category:1949 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Lawyers from Amsterdam Category:Drug-related deaths in the Netherlands Category:Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery Category:20th-century Dutch lawyers Category:21st-century Dutch lawyers