The police have identified 122 suspects related to the disturbances surrounding the Ajax – Maccabi match. Of these, 36 have been identified. Ten of these 36 suspects have appeared before the court. Today, the court will announce its verdict in four cases.
Last December, the court convicted five suspects. Two weeks ago, five more suspects appeared before the court. Today, the court will announce its verdict in four cases. One case has been postponed indefinitely.
Additionally, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) has recently made a decision in eleven cases. The OM has decided to settle seven cases with an OM penalty order. Two individuals will be prosecuted before the police court, and two cases have been dismissed. Earlier, it was already decided to prosecute two minor suspects.
As soon as the OM has the remaining thirteen investigation files, it will make a decision in those cases.
The police have studied and analyzed tens of thousands of hours of footage to identify suspects. Currently, the police are focusing on identifying those suspects who have committed the most severe acts of violence, such as hitting and kicking individuals. Some of them have also been shown in the program Opsporing Verzocht.
Reports and Statements
In the Netherlands, approximately fifty reports have been received by the police and OM, directed against Palestine sympathizers as well as supporters of Maccabi – Tel Aviv. Eight reports mention discriminatory statements made by supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv, including group insults and incitement to violence. The investigation into these statements has not yet led to the identification of individual suspects.
From Israel, over 250 statements have been received, including reports and witness statements. These Israeli documents are largely written in Hebrew. The translation, which has taken some time, is now in the final phase.
Opsporing Verzocht
In total, the police have shown images of thirty individuals in the months of November and March via the website Politie.nl and the television program Opsporing Verzocht. These are thirty individuals suspected of having used violence against persons or property during the disturbances surrounding the match.
Among those thirty individuals are likely seven supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Before the images of these individuals were shown, the Dutch police contacted the police in Israel to request, if possible, to share the identities of the individuals in the images. Recently, Israel has identified one of the unknown suspects. This is now being verified by the Dutch police.
Of the first fifteen individuals whose images were shown in November, three have reported to the police. On Tuesday, March 11, images of 22 individuals were shown, some of whom were also shown last November. Following the broadcast of Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday, March 11, the police received several reports via Meld-Misdaad-Anoniem. These are now being followed up.