Two and a half years in prison. The Public Prosecution Service demanded this on Friday against one of the rioters after the 2023 derby between Willem II and NAC Breda. The 20-year-old Belgian is said to have thrown a steel pole at officers of the Mobile Unit several times.
The football afternoon got out of hand on September 3, 2023. Supporters threw objects and fireworks onto the field, after which the match was stopped. Then fans of the home club turned against the riot police.
The riot police received beer cans, sticks, trash cans and fences, among other things. A number of supporters previously received compensation and a community service order of 180 hours from the police judge in Breda.
Thirty months’ imprisonment
If it is up to the judiciary, the twenty-year-old man from Schoten, Belgium, will receive a prison sentence of thirty months, of which ten months will be conditional with a probation period of two years. The man is suspected of throwing a steel pole at riot police ‘three times’ that day in September.
Justice says that camera images show how a masked rioter pushes a wheelie bin towards the riot police and hits an officer. He then throws an ‘elongated object that resembles a steel pipe’ twice at the officers. The third time an officer is hit full on his helmet. According to the public prosecutor, the officer still has pain complaints and is still incapacitated for work.
Violence against officers
The situation was filmed by one bodycam from a fellow agent. Justice further says that a later investigation shows that the suspect is recognized without a facial covering on camera images taken before the riots. Specific clothing features and the man’s build match. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this proves that the suspect is the same person who pelted officers several times with the pipe.
The suspect himself denies that he was present at the pelting. He says he has been loaned his sweater. The public prosecutor calls this ‘unbelievable’.
According to the public prosecutor, it has been proven that the suspect is guilty of serious assault and public violence. The Public Prosecution Service takes the suspect particularly seriously because it concerns violence against a care provider.
The court will make its ruling on November 28.
