Five men convicted for attacks on Israeli football fans in Amsterdam

Court finds them guilty of crimes including kicking fans and inciting violence

Violence erupted in Amsterdam after Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in the city. Reuters

Five men have been convicted for their involvement in violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

The district court in the Dutch capital found them guilty of a range of crimes, from kicking Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.

The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison for a man identified as Sefa O, who was convicted of public violence against several people.

Prosecutors said that the 32-year-old played a “leading role” in the violence, and the court was shown images of him kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets and punching people in the head and the body.

Umutcan A, 24, was jailed for a month for assaulting fans and violently ripping a Maccabi scarf from one of them. He was also suspected as being the author of a WhatsApp message calling for a “Jew hunt”.

He was arrested after his photo was shown on TV, which his mother also saw, and said he regrets his actions. “I don't hate Jews at all, I can't tell you why I said that,” he told the Amsterdam District Court.

The Israeli fans came under “hit-and-run” style attacks in the early hours of November 8 after their Europa League match against Dutch giants Ajax.

The violence, which saw five fans taken to hospital, followed two days of skirmishes that also saw Maccabi fans chant anti-Arab songs, vandalise a taxi and burn a Palestinian flag. Images of the attacks went around the world and led to a furious reaction in Israel.

Outlining their case against the accused, prosecutors had said the attacks 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 Gaza, not by anti-Semitism,” said the prosecutors.

Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including that carried out by fans of the Israeli club.

Another man, identified as Abushabab M., 22, faces the most serious charge of attempted murder but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment. He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while his client sat sobbing as his case was being heard.

A further six suspects are set to appear at a later stage. Three of these suspects are minors and their cases will be heard behind closed doors.

At an emotionally charged news conference the morning after the riots, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful anti-Semitic rioters”.

But Ms Halsema later said she regretted the parallel she had drawn between the violence and “memories of pogroms”, saying this word had been used as propaganda.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the violence at the time as a “premeditated anti-Semitic attack”.