Court upholds sentences for football linesman's murder

The prison sentences for six young Nieuw Sloten football players and one player's father, convicted in the manslaughter death of Richard Nieuwenhuizen, were upheld today by the highest court in the Netherlands. The seven people were convicted of kicking and beating the football linesman on December 2, 2012 when they were dissatisfied with the outcome of a match. He died of a heart attack hours after the altercation. In affirming the sentences, the court agreed with an assessment that the heart attack was a direct result of the beating. Nieuwenhuizend, 41, was a linesman with family ties to one of the teams playing in the match, SC Buitenboys of Almere. He was officiating the match between that team and a team from Nieuw Sloten, Amsterdam. El-Hasan D., the 50-year-old father of one player, received six years in prison. Five of the players, aged 15-17 at the time, were sentenced to two years in prison, with six months conditionally suspended. El-Hasan D.'s son also was sent to prison for a year, with several months suspended.