Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters are guarded by police after violence targeting Israeli football fans broke out in Amsterdam overnight, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 8, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ami Shooman/Israel Hayom
Prosecutors in the Amsterdam District Court on Wednesday called for a two-year jail sentence for a man accused of attacking fans of the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv during a violent rampage that took place in the Dutch capital last month.
The 22-year-old, identified as Sefa O, was one of five suspects who appeared in court on Wednesday in front of three judges, according to AFP. They are all charged with public violence for physically assaulting Israeli soccer fans who were visiting Amsterdam to watch a Nov. 7 match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Dutch team Ajax. Images were reportedly shown to the court of a man, alleged to be Sefa O, kicking a person on the ground, chasing fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the streets of Amsterdam, and punching people in the head and the body. The prosecutor argued that the suspect played a “leading role” in the violence that “had little to do with football.”
“In this case, there was no evidence of … a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by antisemitic sentiment,” the prosecutor alleged, as reported by AFP. “The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism.”
Sefa O turned himself over to police and has since been in detention for his alleged involvement in the violence, which has been described as a “pogrom.” Amsterdam’s mayor called the attackers “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” and said the assailants were going “Jew hunting.”
Sefa O appeared in court on Wednesday and said he “very much regretted his presence” during the premeditated and coordinated attack that took place starting in the late hours of Nov. 7 and into the early hours of Nov. 8. He added that he wants “to start a new life” with his family, including his pregnant wife, and vowed “from now on only to hang around with good people.”
Prosecutors also urged the court to sentence a second suspect, named Lucas D., to six months in jail for throwing stones at police and illegally owning fireworks, according to AFP. He is further accused of being part of a Snapchat group that incited violence against the Israeli soccer fans.
The five suspects who appeared in court on Wednesday are between the ages of 19-32, and two more suspects will appear in court on Thursday. Six more suspects will appear in court at a later date, but they include three minors, whose cases will be heard privately. The Dutch court will announce their verdict in the case on Dec. 24.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said it has also charged some Maccabi fans “who displayed provocative behavior before the game.”
Police in Amsterdam said in mid-November that they investigated at least 45 people in connection with the violence, which resulted in five Maccabi fans being hospitalized.
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