A Dutch court on Tuesday convicted five men for their involvement in last month’s crime Violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam, which shocked the world and sparked accusations of anti-Semitism.
The Amsterdam District Court found her guilty of a range of crimes, from kicking Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.
The highest sentence imposed was a six-month prison sentence for a man named Sefa O. for public violence against several people.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were hit and run in the early hours of November 8 after their Europa League match against Amsterdam giants Ajax.
Images of the violence, which left five fans briefly hospitalized, spread around the world and sparked angry reactions in Israel – including accusations of a “pogrom”.
The most serious case heard on Tuesday was that of O., who, according to the prosecutor, played a “leading role” in the violence.
The court saw images of a man identified as O. kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets and punching people on the head and body.
The prosecutor said the beating had “little to do with football” but added that “in this case there was no evidence of … terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment.”
“The violence was influenced by the Situation in Gazanot through anti-Semitism,” said the prosecutor.
The attacks followed two days of skirmishes in which Maccabi fans also chanted anti-Arab songs, vandalized a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including fans of the Israeli club.
Another man, identified as Umutcan A. (24), received a one-month prison sentence for attacking fans and violently tearing off a Maccabi scarf from one of them.
The public prosecutor’s office had called for higher penalties against the men – in O.’s case, up to two years.
The judge said people convicted of such crimes would normally be required to do community service. “But the court is of the view that, given the seriousness of the offense and the context in which it was committed, only a custodial sentence is appropriate,” she said.
Only one of the five men was in court to hear the verdicts, an AFP reporter saw.
A 22-year-old, identified as Abushabab M., 22, is charged with attempted murder, but his trial has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation.
He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, as M. sat sobbing as his case was heard.
Six other suspects are expected to appear at a later date.
Three of these suspects are minors and their cases are being heard behind closed doors.
At an emotionally charged press conference the morning after the riots, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful anti-Semitic rioters.”
However, Halsema later said she regretted the parallel she had drawn between the violence and “memories of pogroms”, saying that word had been used as propaganda.
At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the violence as a “deliberate anti-Semitic attack.”
