Bridget Maasland wonders whether it is smart for Ali B to show himself in public and have his picture taken with children so soon after his appeal conviction. “What are you doing on the football field?”
Ali B was convicted on appeal for the rape of two women, namely Ellen ten Damme and his anonymous victim Naomi. He has to go to prison for three years, but postpones things by appealing to cassation. We’ll probably see him behind bars sometime around Christmas next year, where he’ll be out by the time he’s 50.
Ali Tralie
In the meantime, Ali is playing well and has appeared on a football field, where he has had his picture taken with young fans. One of the young people present filmed the scene and shouted: “Ali Tralie, what are you doing here? Don’t you belong in prison?”
Criminal lawyer Anis Boumanjal finds it strange that Ali shows himself so quickly. “I think it would be appropriate to just turn to yourself a little and take a step back. I mean that and I would have told him that too. I am now also telling him that, so to speak,” he says in RTL Boulevard.
Uncanny
Many Dutch people find it bizarre that a rapist can simply walk around freely before serving his sentence. “I understand that it creates an uncanny feeling in public opinion and that is where the split lies as far as I am concerned. But if you ask the question: ‘Is it a slap in the face of the victims?’, then I wonder: where is the line?”
He continues: “I think that the satisfaction lies mainly in the hefty sentence that the court has imposed. I do not think that the punishment should also be that we then also get a depression Ali, someone who goes bankrupt, lives on the street and breaks down. That is the other extreme.”
Bridget critical
Crime journalist John van den Heuvel shows understanding for Ali. “I can imagine that when children come up to you and ask if you want to take a picture with them… Yes, do you have to kick those children away?”
Presenter Bridget Maasland then: “No, but you can also wonder: why is he on the football field now, so soon after?”
Colleague Morad El Ouakili then: “Well, he can take his own son to play football, right? Or how do you imagine that?”
Not smart
Bridget finds it awkward. “Of course you can, but I wonder if it is smart to go out in public so soon afterward.”
John: “The judge has decided: you do not have to go to prison yet, you will only go to prison once the entire criminal case has been completed. Do you have to remain locked up in the house or can he indeed still try something? In that regard, he never does it right, because if he goes to Morocco, it is: he flees!”
“If he goes to Dubai, it is: he does not accept his punishment! I think he tries, as best he can, to lead a somewhat normal life. But again: what I would have difficulty with is if all kinds of adults, like Willem Holleeder, wanted to take a picture with him and put him on a kind of shield saying: this is our hero.”
Wake-up call
Bridget agrees. “On a kind of pedestal, yes.”
TV critic Rob Goossens: “I think it is also a bit of a wake-up call for Ali himself, who already gets Ali Tralie here, but you could also say: Pariah B, because this is how people are going to approach him when he gets on his feet. I would advise him: make sure you get rid of it as quickly as possible, and that will not happen because of that cassation case.”
Bridget: “Also for himself?”
Rob: “Yes, yes, yes.”
Bridget: “Thanks.”
TikTok
Ali on football field:
@adamski0750 BHAHAHA😂😂😂#075 #fyp #alitraly ♬ original sound – adamski075
