According to the Amsterdam District Court, both students were found guilty of public assault and making discriminatory remarks. Marlon U. was also found guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm.
Head against concrete floor
The court found it proven that, in late November, Marlon U. attacked a fellow student of Egyptian descent, assaulting and discriminating against him at Bar Boele on the VU campus. Footage shown during the previous hearing revealed how U. knocked the victim to the ground and repeatedly slammed his head against the concrete floor.
According to the judges, Reinout V. made a ‘significant contribution’ to the violence. ‘He pushed away a bystander who tried to intervene and told him not to get involved, otherwise he would be attacked himself,’ the court wrote.
Both students will therefore receive community service orders. If U. commits another criminal offence within two years, he will have to serve two months in prison. The sentence is considerably lower than the prosecution’s demand, which had sought six and five months for the two students, of which three months were to be served conditionally.
‘Prison sentence not appropriate’
The court acknowledges that these are serious offences, but considers that the victim’s injuries were limited. ‘Furthermore, the 26-year-old man [Marlon U., ed.] has suffered significant consequences as a result of his actions. He has lost his job, and the negative press coverage is affecting his attempts to find new employment. In these circumstances, the court does not consider an unconditional prison sentence to be appropriate.’
Reinout V. has been given a lighter sentence than U. because he played ‘not a comparable but a more limited role’ in the assault. In determining his sentence, the court also took into account the impact of the case on him, including obstacles to his work and potential delays to his studies.
During the hearing two weeks ago, the public prosecutor criticised the men’s attitude, as they primarily saw themselves as victims. For instance, U. said that his dog had already been home alone for seven hours due to the lengthy hearing, and both men complained about the false allegations, “uncritically copied by journalists”.
N-word
Despite the reduced sentence, the court emphasised that the discriminatory remarks made by both men were aggravating factors. According to witnesses, U. called a bystander a ‘fucking n*gger’ and V. told the victim that he should be deported. ‘In the Netherlands, everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity, must be able to move about safely,’ the court wrote. ‘These offences lead to feelings of fear and insecurity within the student community, and beyond.’
Students often receive more lenient sentences in court
On average, the sentences handed down to students by the court are 54 per cent lighter than those for people who are unemployed or have no formal education. Students receive lower fines and are less likely to be sent to prison. This was revealed this week by research from the WODC, an independent research institute of the Ministry of Justice and Security.