Court makes judgments
Prison sentences for violence against Israelis in Amsterdam
The scenes caused international outrage: Israeli football fans are the target of violent attacks in Amsterdam. The first verdicts are issued around seven weeks later.
Following the attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam, a court in the Dutch capital has imposed sentences of up to six months in prison. According to the verdict read out on Tuesday, a 32-year-old should go to prison for six months because he gave one of the victims “a karate kick that almost caused him to fall against a tram,” as the Amsterdam newspaper “Het Parool” reported from the courtroom .
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the man played a leading role in the attacks on supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club on November 7th and 8th. Videos of him kicking and punching people were shown in the courtroom. However, the court’s verdict fell well short of the public prosecutor’s demand of two years.
Three of the five cases discussed involved violence and bodily harm, while the remaining two cases involved the exchange of information on social networks calling for attacks on supporters of the Israeli football club. Two defendants, aged 24 and 26, each received prison sentences of one month, and a 26-year-old was sentenced to prison for ten weeks. A 19-year-old was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
The Dutch Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) criticized the sentences as too lenient. Given the “anti-Semitic character” of the violence, it is a “regrettable signal” that the sentences were lower than those demanded by the public prosecutor’s office, said CIDI director Naomi Mestrum, according to a report by the ANP news agency.
Both the defendants and the prosecution have 14 days to file an appeal.
On the sidelines of the football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, pro-Palestinian rioters attacked and mistreated Israeli fans. According to the prosecution, calls for a “hunt for Jews” were made in digital chat groups.
The acts of violence sparked international outrage. Israel and Dutch politicians spoke of anti-Semitic violence. Around 60 victims are now demanding compensation.
According to the police, Maccabi fans were also violent. They rioted, shouted anti-Arab slogans and tore Palestinian flags from the walls of houses. The Dutch judiciary is still investigating around 40 people, including Israelis.
dpa
Source: Stern
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