The Amsterdam court sentenced four individuals involved in the riots surrounding the Ajax versus Maccabi Tel Aviv match on November 7 to prison terms of up to 12 weeks to prison terms of up to 12 weeks on Wednesday. Court evidence confirmed that the suspects either shared information in WhatsApp groups to coordinate and incite attacks on Israeli fans or directly participated in the violence. The most severe sentence of 12 weeks was handed to one particular defendant.
The incident occurred on the night between November 7 and 8, following a European League soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax. Israeli team supporters faced brutal attacks by local rioters who documented their violent acts and shared them across social media platforms.
Reports indicate that a 27-year-old defendant received the longest prison sentence. The judge specifically cited his Holocaust glorification in recovered WhatsApp messages as particularly egregious. In an application group called Burthuis 2, which had over 900 members, he actively tracked and reported Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters' locations. His messages included disturbing statements such as: "Better a dead Jew than a living Jew." The evidence showed he also shared an image of Anne Frank with the text: "Laughing gas is for the weak, I use Zyklon B."
The application also contained another image featuring Adolf Hitler. The judge condemned the trivialization of the Holocaust represented in these messages, stating: "The persecution of Jews during World War II is one of the most shocking events in human history. It caused unprecedented suffering. Even today."
The legal proceedings have advanced significantly, with 14 identified suspects already having stood trial for their involvement in the riots, according to NL Times. Five received convictions with sentences ranging from 100 hours of community service to six months imprisonment during the first set of hearings. An additional two adults and two minors are scheduled to appear in court soon.
The Public Prosecution Service continues its investigation to identify more potential suspects and victims, with dozens of individuals currently under scrutiny. Mara van den Berg, press officer for the OM in Amsterdam, informed the Dutch NOS that "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."
Recent reports from Europe suggest that "European media remains silent while the court hears shocking details about the 'Jew hunt' in Amsterdam." Hungarian journalist Zoltan Kottasz claimed on Tuesday that five additional suspects appeared in court for the brutal attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while Western liberal media outlets maintain what he described as a cynical silence regarding the incident.
While this isn't the first instance where pro-Palestinians who attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans have received prison sentences, it represents a significant advancement in the ongoing investigations – with Dutch police apparently making progress in recent days by apprehending an increasing number of those involved in the riots.
