The three attackers on the building of weekly newspaper Panorama its Wednesday sentenced to two to four years in prison. One offender gets four years and nine months, two others must go to jail for two years and nine months. In 2018, the trio fired a rocket launcher at the building where, among other things, Panorama is located in Amsterdam West. According to the judge, there is no evidence that the attack is solely aimed at the weekly newspaper – there are also other companies in the building.
The judges do not establish a link between the publications of the magazine and the attack, because “no clear motive for the shelling has emerged”. The suspects have “not disclosed any disclosures”. The court ruled that the three men had “contempt for Dutch society and the rules applicable therein” by walking around in public with a weapon of war.
Earlier, the Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison term of more than six years. The prosecutor described the attack as a democracy-undermining “attack on the free press”. The case has been going on for years: in 2019, the judiciary still demanded prison sentences of up to six and seven years. At the time, the court did not agree, because it was unclear whether the attack was aimed at Panorama.
No one was injured in the action. However, the building sustained significant damage. One week after the attack on Panorama drove into a car on the building of The Telegraph. Both media regularly write about organized crime in the Netherlands. Justice previously made a connection between Panorama’s publications on that subject and the attack.