Four Romanians have been given a prison sentence of one and a half years for seriously assaulting a man in his hometown of Eindhoven. According to the judge in Den Bosch, they kicked and hit their victim last February. Even when the now 38-year-old Eindhoven resident had fallen to the ground. The man was in a coma for a while.
The assault happened on the night of February 25 to 26, 2023. The Romanians had come to Stratumseind, the entertainment area in Eindhoven, to celebrate the birthdays of two of them. They were all under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
‘He went down like a plank’
In a café there was already some irritation between a group of people going out and the Romanians. The 38-year-old Eindhove resident also asserted himself several times, the court noted. That irritated atmosphere led to a serious assault on the Grote Berg later that night, during which the victim was kicked and beaten, even when he was already on the ground. Witnesses are said to have even seen that the victim was hit so hard that he fell like a plank.
As a result of the abuse, the man suffered a torn vertebrae in his back and neck, a broken nose, a collapsed lung and brain damage. The roofer was admitted to the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg in a coma. He was able to leave the hospital after just under a month, but is still recovering. It is expected that he will never fully recover from the brain injury he suffered.
No proof
According to the Romanians’ lawyers, there is no evidence that the four are guilty of attempted manslaughter. They point out that camera images do not show that their clients are the ones who assaulted the victim. During the hearing two weeks ago, other recordings were shown. The judge warned those present about the violence. At a certain point, the victim’s mother could no longer bear it. She left the courtroom for a moment.
The public prosecutor called the Romanians ‘possessed’. She demanded four years in prison for a joint attempted manslaughter. She also acknowledged that the victim ‘sought confrontation’, but also that it should never have gotten so out of hand. After all, the abuse could have ended fatally.
The judge ultimately decided on a 1.5 year prison sentence. The four have also been ordered to pay the victim compensation totaling more than 20,000 euros. The youngest perpetrator must pay another 2,500 euros to someone else who was injured in the brawl.
The men are 21 to 36 and live in Eindhoven and Geldrop. They came to the Netherlands to earn money for their families in Romania. One of them has seven children and a wife to support.
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