Four rioters received short prison sentences for violence against soccer fans visiting Amsterdam for a Europa League match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Sefa Ö, 32, was given the longest sentence of six months in prison by the Amsterdam District Court, while another man received 10 weeks and two others a month each. A fifth defendant received a community service order under the Dutch Juvenile Act.
The judge said a prison sentence for the four was appropriate given the seriousness of the actions and the context in which they were committed.
Riots broke out in several areas of the Dutch capital in early November and drew international condemnation.
The five defendants convicted on Tuesday were the first to stand trial for the hit-and-run attacks that broke out in the early hours of November 8, following incidents that took place over two days.
The court said there was plenty of video evidence showing Maccabi fans facing extreme violence and also pointed to footage of supporters tearing down Palestinian flags as well as chanting anti-Arab slogans. Taxis were also smitten by fans.
The president of the court added that there had already been unrest in the Netherlands because of the war in Gaza.
Although the court took into account the “context” of the events, it said there was “no justification for calling for and using physical violence against Israeli supporters”.
Sefa Ö he was found to have karate-kicked one victim, causing him to fall onto a moving tram, and to have been involved in several other attacks.
During the trial, videos emerged showing him kicking and punching victims in Dam Square, Damrak and Zutsteg, and prosecutors said he played a leading role in the violence, which had nothing to do with football.
Rachid OThe 26-year-old, who received a 10-week prison sentence, was found to have participated in a WhatsApp chat group called Buurthuis2 in which he called the alleged victims “cowardly” Jews who he would never get the chance to attack again.
More than 900 people were in the group and the court said the chat was used to transmit information about “committing violence against people of Jewish origin and/or supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv”.
Umutkan AThe 24-year-old also kicked one of the victims several times while involved in an assault with other men, before kicking another fan to the ground. CCTV footage shows him assaulting several Maccabi fans, as well as grabbing one fan by the throat and grabbing his football scarf.
He had posted on message boards about “Jew hunting” but told the trial he harbored no hatred of Jews.
Karanveer SThe 26-year-old was already convicted of assault in 2022. and the court noted that this did not deter him from participating in last month's attacks.
The youngest of five, Lucas D19, was found to have used violence against a police officer and participated in a separate Snapchat group calling for violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.
The five have two weeks to appeal.
The court was told he was in possession of an illegal Cobra high explosive firework at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors asked that Lucas D receive a prison sentence.
Prosecutor General René de Beukelaer earlier rejected suggestions that the attacks were terrorism because he said the group's aim was not to instill fear in the people they targeted.
However, he said there had been instances of anti-Semitism exchanged in a message group.
“I understand very well that the Jewish community in Amsterdam was left scared because of this violence, but that is different from saying that this was the aim of the suspects,” he told Amsterdam TV channel AT5 earlier this month.