Four rioters have been sentenced to short prison terms for assaulting soccer fans who were in Amsterdam for a Europa League match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Amsterdam District Court handed down the maximum sentence to Sefa Oh, 32, of six months in prison, another man to 10 weeks and two others to one month each. The fifth defendant was sentenced to a community service order under Dutch juvenile law.
The judge said prison sentences for the four were appropriate given the seriousness of the acts and the circumstances in which they took place.
Riots broke out in several areas of the Dutch capital in early November, leading to international condemnation.
The five defendants sentenced Tuesday are the first to stand trial in the hit-and-run incident that occurred in the early hours of Nov. 8 after an incident that spanned two days.
The court said there was ample video evidence showing Maccabi fans being subjected to extreme violence, and also pointed to footage of supporters pulling down Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Arab slogans. A taxi was also vandalized by fans.
The court president added that there was already unrest in the Netherlands due to the war in Gaza.
The court considered the “circumstances” of the events, but said “there was no justification for the call or use of physical violence against Israeli supporters.”
Sehwa Oh was found to have given one victim a karate-style kick, causing him to fall onto a moving tram, as well as taking part in several other attacks.
At trial, video footage was shown showing him kicking and punching victims at Dam Square, Damrak and Zautsteg, with prosecutors claiming he played a leading role in the violence unrelated to football. insisted.
Rashid O, 26, who was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison, was found to have been part of a WhatsApp chat group called Bururthuis2, in which he described his intended victims as “despicable” Jews. He said he would never have a chance to attack again.
The group had more than 900 members, and the court said the chats were used to communicate information aimed at “violence against people of Jewish descent and supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv.”
Umutkan A, 24, was also found to have kicked one of the victims several times while taking part in the attack with other men, before kicking another fan to the ground. Surveillance camera footage showed him attacking several Maccabi fans and grabbing one fan by the throat and grabbing his soccer scarf.
He had written on a messaging group about “hunting Jews” but told the court he harbored no hatred for Jews.
Karanveer S, 26, had already been convicted of assault in 2022, and the court noted that did not deter him from participating in last month’s attack.
The youngest of the five, Lucas D., 19, was found to have been part of a separate Snapchat group that called for violence against police officers and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
All five have been given two weeks to appeal.
The court heard the suspect was in possession of illegal high-explosive Cobra fireworks at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors had asked for Lucas D. to be sentenced to prison.
Chief prosecutor René de Beukeler has previously rejected suggestions that the attack amounted to terrorism, saying the group’s aim was not to instill fear in those targeted. Ta.
However, he said there were instances of anti-Semitic exchanges on messaging groups.
“I understand that the Jewish community in Amsterdam was scared because of this violence, but that doesn’t mean that was the suspect’s goal,” he told Amsterdam’s AT5 TV channel earlier this month. spoke.
