Four men were sentenced on Wednesday to prison terms of three months, one month of which is suspended, for throwing heavy fireworks at police officers. They did this during a protest in Doetinchem against the arrival of a temporary asylum seekers center (azc).
The judge in Zutphen wanted to send a signal. “This type of action creates a feeling of threat for council members who do their work there, but also for the mayor and aldermen,” he said Wednesday in court.
The public prosecutor had requested prison sentences of up to eight months, two months of which were suspended. The judge came out lower, but decided that three of the four men would remain in custody for the time being.
The four men are aged 18 to 37 and come from Doetinchem and the surrounding area. During the violent demonstration, some of them wore black and face-covering clothing.
“I wanted to make my voice heard and thought it was a good idea, such a loud bang,” said Luuk ten B. (23). According to the Public Prosecution Service, his mortar bomb went off 0.5 to 2 meters away from officers. He only admitted to setting off a mortar bomb on the ground.
Cobra 6 thrown towards officers
The 21-year-old suspect Rhodry W. confessed to throwing four nitrates on the square. An eighteen-year-old man from Doetinchem admitted that he had thrown a Cobra 6 towards officers. The 37-year-old Patrick D. said he had set off a mortar bomb before the demonstration started.
The riots took place in front of the town hall, where the municipal council was meeting about the asylum seekers’ center. The meeting took place behind closed doors, because a week earlier protesters had entered the meeting.