Ibrahim Asik sits unsuspectingly smoking in front of his home in Tilburg on Saturday evening. Until suddenly two armed robbers appear in front of him. They abuse him and search his house, looking for anything of value. “They kept shouting: where’s the money?”
Ibrahim was still scared on Sunday morning. He has a few bumps on his head and his leg is probably bruised.
The Tilburg citizen is not allowed to enter his apartment on Artemisstraat, he says as he looks at his flat in confusion. “The police are still investigating. I slept with my brother last night, although I couldn’t really sleep. My adrenaline was still too high.”
“They thought I was lying and beat me.”
He doesn’t know who targeted him on Saturday night. The perpetrators abused Ibrahim in the hope that he would reveal something about where his money was, he says. “But I have nothing. That’s what I said, but they thought I was lying and beat me even more. I thought: this is the end of my life.”
The men also had a weapon with them, with which they threatened Ibrahim. The resident doesn’t know if it was real or fake. Why he was chosen? He has no idea. “I’m not a rich man: I only get benefits.”
“I am very shocked.”
Ultimately, one perpetrator searched the house, while the other stayed with Ibrahim. “They found some money somewhere. They took that too. I don’t know how much it was. I still have my phone and wallet.”
He would like to return to his home, although Ibrahim is also afraid. He doesn’t know if he still dares. “I am very shocked. I have lived in the Netherlands for 34 years and have never experienced anything like this. I never expected this.”
The perpetrators have not yet been caught.
