Israeli fans attacked in Amsterdam: Prosecutor requests 18 months in prison for one of the attackers

The Amsterdam prosecutor's office on Wednesday 11 December requested a two-year prison sentence, including six months suspended, for a man suspected of beating Israeli football fans during a night of violence described as anti-Semitic by many Western governments.

The man, identified by the Amsterdam court as Sefa Ö., is the second of five suspects, aged between 19 and 32, to appear before a panel of three judges on Wednesday. Two other suspects are due to appear on Thursday. Sefa Ö. is accused of chasing, pushing and beating several Israeli fans.

In the courtroom, where a worried family member was watching the appearance, footage of several fights in central Amsterdam was shown.

On the night of November 7-8, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were chased and beaten through the streets of the Dutch capital. Five people were briefly hospitalized following the attacks, which the Netherlands and several Western countries have described as anti-Semitic.

Active during the episode

In one of the videos, a man identified as Sefa Ö. is seen in the middle of a group giving “back pats” to other people, appearing to “direct traffic”, according to the public prosecutor. In other footage, the same man appears kicking a man already on the ground in a narrow street in central Amsterdam.

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“I regret very much that I was there,” said Sefa Ö., hunched over and looking at his hands. “My wife is pregnant. For my family and my parents, I have decided to associate with good people from now on,”, added the man, who has been in custody since he turned himself in to the police.

“In this case, there is no evidence of an organized connection, of terrorist intent, and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment. The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by anti-Semitism,” the prosecutor's office said.

45 people targeted by an investigation

According to police, tensions were high before the football match. Anti-Arab slogans were chanted by Israeli fans, who also vandalized a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.

A six-month prison sentence, including three months of parole, was requested for a first suspect who appeared earlier. The attorney general ruled that there was evidence that Lucas D., 19, was responsible for acts of violence, including throwing stones at police, in addition to illegally possessing fireworks.

The court said it would deliver its verdict on December 24. After Lucas D.'s appearance, the Attorney General said that on November 8, “the Netherlands woke up to a storm that attracted international attention.”

“The violence had little to do with football,” he added. Police said they were investigating at least 45 people in connection with the violence. “Charges have also been brought against Maccabi fans who behaved provocatively before the match,”, the Dutch public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Polarization

Later Wednesday, a 22-year-old man from the southern Eindhoven region will appear in court to face the most serious charge in the cases, attempted manslaughter, the public prosecutor's office said.

In addition to the seven suspects appearing in court this week, at least six other people face charges related to the violence that night and in the days following the events.

Three of the suspects are minors and their cases will be heard behind closed doors. The November violence in Amsterdam came amid polarization in Europe, with anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and Islamophobic acts on the rise since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October 2023. The events in Amsterdam shocked the Netherlands and sparked a debate about polarization in the country.