Brothers get up to 16 years for double murder in Nijmegen cafe

Brothers Bjorn and Gjordan D. were sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison for shooting and killing two other men, also brothers, in Cafe Istanbul in Nijmegen last year, NOS and Omroep Gelderland report.

It is believed that the four men got into a fight over a cannabis plantation. All four men had criminal records. In addition to Bjorn and Gjordan D., one of the victims also had a firearm. The perpetrators fired a total of 22 shots, 18 of which hit the victims, according to Omroep Gelderland.

The older of the two perpetrators, 43, confessed to shooting the victims, but claimed it was in self defense. He only opened fire when one of the victims started shooting, he said. The court ruled that this was not a situation in which the defendant can claim self defense. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

The younger brother, 38, said that he fired no shots, but forensic evidence showed otherwise. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The two brothers also have to pay compensation to the victims' family. 

The shooting was recorded, but a third suspect threw the footage into the Maas-Waal canal. The authorities later fished it out of the water. This 33-year-old man was sentenced to six months in prison for destroying evidence.