Dutch Deputy PM won't be prosecuted for saying anti-Semitism is part of Muslim culture
Deputy Prime Minister Mona Keijzer will not be prosecuted for saying that “hatred of Jews is almost part of the culture” in Islamic countries, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled in a procedure trying to force prosecution. The BBB Minister of Housing now wants the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to clear her name, she told the Telegraaf.
An Afghan refugee living in the Netherlands took the matter to court, asking the court to force prosecution through an Article 12 procedure. The court now ruled against prosecuting Keijzer.
According to the judge, Keijzer made the statement as a politician within the political debate, which gives her more room. Like the OM, the judge said that Keijzer’s remarks were insulting. “But in the context, the insulting nature decreases,” a spokesperson of the court told the Telegraaf. The judge also took into account that Keijzer added on the talk show that her statement doesn’t apply to all Muslims.
Keijzer considers the ruling as reason enough for the OM to adjust its official reason for dropping the case against her. She wants the OM to drop the “guilty in principle” part of its decision.
“The truth cannot and may not be punishable,” the BBB politician told the newspaper. “Despite the fact that I was convinced that my statements were not punishable, this entire process still had an impact on me. This case affected me personally, my integrity, and my freedom of expression.”
Did the OM consider for one minute that her statement might have been (and actually was) correct?
How absurd it is to have to hide the truth from the very people about whom the truth is spoken?
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Four more convicted in Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv riots; Amsterdam police seek 122 suspects
Four men were convicted on Wednesday for crimes committed before and after a football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv FC of Israel. The harshest sentence given was the 12-week stint in prison that a 27-year-old man was ordered to serve. The verdict was published the same day it emerged that authorities have 122 suspects in their sights for the riots surrounding the Ajax vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam last November, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) told NOS.
The 122 suspects are accused of involvement in multiple violent incidents on November 6, 7, and 8, both before and after the match between the Amsterdam and Israeli football clubs. Several people were attacked on the street, there was widespread vandalism, and anti-Semitic slurs were uttered.
Out of the 122 allegedly observed committing various crimes, the police have determined the identity of 36. Approximately 10 of them are Maccabi supporters, and the rest seem to be Palestine sympathizers and others who wanted to riot for their own reasons, the OM told NOS.
The District Court in Amsterdam sentenced Cenk D. to 12 weeks in prison for aiding in assault and hate speech. He had participated in a WhatsApp group where he provided information to help others commit violence. He also made insulting remarks about Jewish people, including references to the Holocaust. The court said that these remarks were "extremely hurtful and insulting," and that they contributed to feelings of insecurity and unrest in society.
Mounir M., 32, was handed a six-week sentence for aiding an assault. He was one of the administrators of the WhatsApp group where information was shared to help others commit violence. The court said that he had also made insulting remarks about Jewish people, but could not be convicted of hate speech violations because the specific provision of the law under which he could have been charged was not included in the indictment.
The court also convicted Kamal I., 22, of aiding in assault, sentencing him to a month in prison for participating in the WhatsApp group and sharing information about the location of both Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters and police vehicles. He was acquitted of public violence.
Mohammed B. was found guilty of committing violence in public. The 26-year-old was accused of chasing a Maccabi Tel Aviv supporter and using a belt to make a striking motion towards the victim. Another person then kicked the victim in the leg. The court ruled B. contributed to the violence, and gave him 30 days in prison, including 19 days which were suspended. He will not have to return to jail as he already served 11 days in pre-trial detention, though he will remain on probation for two years.
The court considered the context in which the crimes occurred, but emphasized that this context did not justify the use of physical violence against the Israeli supporters. The court also said that the hate speech and group insults were not justified. The court said that community service orders are usually imposed for the crimes, but that in this case, prison sentences were the only appropriate punishment.
So far, 14 of the identified suspects have stood trial for the riots. Five of them were convicted and given sentences ranging between 100 hours of community service and six months in prison in the first set of hearings. Two more adults and two minor suspects will stand trial soon.
The Public Prosecution Service is still investigating the identity of more possible suspects and victims. Thus far, authorities have dozens of people in focus. “The investigation is still ongoing, but we assume that we now have all the people who committed the most serious violent incidents in our sights,” Mara van den Berg, the press officer for the OM in Amsterdam, told NOS.
About 50 victims have pressed charges in the Netherlands, both against Palestine sympathizers and against Maccabi supporters. Eight reports concern discrimination by the Israeli supporters, the rest are mainly about vandalism and destruction of property.
Two suspects facing 13 years in prison for fatal shooting in Amsterdam coffee shop
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has recommended 13 years in prison against 41-year-old Fouad H. and 29-year-old Mohamed H. The OM holds them both responsible for the violent death of 33-year-old Saïd Yusuf, who was shot in the head in a coffee shop in the city center of Amsterdam on November 19, 2023.
Drug dealer Fouad H. was embroiled in a conflict with the victim regarding money. Several meetings had come before the incident in the coffee shop on the Kloveniersburgwal. An argument ensued on the evening after Yusuf had taken Fouad’s phone and refused to give it back.
According to the OM, Fouad H. had brought a firearm and then given it to Mohamed H. with the order to fire it. Which is what H. did. “He walked towards Yusuf without any hesitation, pulled out the gun, and shot the victim in the head from close range,” said the prosecutor. “A cold and clear assassination. Shoot to kill. That is what that looks like.”
The victim died of his wounds in the hospital. Mohamed H. handed himself in to the police a day after the violence, and Fouad H. was arrested in Germany. Both suspects live in England. Fouad H. has been “deeply connected to the drug trade” and was in Amsterdam for that reason.
Fouad H. did not fire the gun, but he is just as guilty of the death of the victim as his fellow suspect, prosecutors believe. “He gave the gun and the order in a cool-blooded way and let another do the dirty work.”
OM collected a lot of their evidence from camera footage. They do not consider many statements made during the investigation to be reliable.
What? You mean murderers are liars too?
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