An Amsterdam court today convicted five men of violence and aiding and abetting violence against Israeli Maccabi supporters during attacks branded anti-Semitic by many Western governments.
The court ruled that the five men were guilty of a range of offences, including violence or incitement to violence in online chat groups. The court announced prison sentences of six months, ten weeks and one month as well as a sentence of 100 hours of community service for the five defendants.
The judge ruled that, in general, defendants found guilty of these offenses should serve community service. “But the court considers that, given the seriousness of the offense and the context in which it was committed, only a prison sentence is appropriate,” he added.
On the night of 7-8 November, fans of the Israeli team were chased and beaten in the streets of Amsterdam, on the sidelines of a football match against the local team Ajax. Five people were briefly hospitalized.
Images of the violence went around the world and provoked an angry reaction from Israel. Before the match the tension was already high. According to police, Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans while vandalizing a taxi and burning a Palestinian flag.
Police said they were investigating at least 45 people in connection with the violence, including Maccabi fans accused of provocative behaviour.
