Dutch brothers get up to 5.5 years for aggravated assault on Prague waiter

A Czech court sentenced Dutch brothers Armin and Arash N. to 5.5 years and 5 years in prison respectively for assaulting a waiter in Prague in April last year. The brothers were convicted of aggravated assault on appeal on Tuesday. They are also banned from visiting the Czech Republic for ten years, AD reports.

The sentence is much lower than the Public Prosecutor demanded. The Prosecutor wanted the brothers sentenced to 9 and 8 years in prison for attempted murder, but the court did not consider it proven that they wanted to kill the waiter.

Earlier this year the brothers were sentenced to five and six years in prison for inflicting serious bodily harm on the waiter and for disturbing public order. Both the brothers and Public Prosecutor appealed.

On Tuesday, 29-year-old Armin N. again got the longer sentence, as he is also accused of involvement in a fight at a disco the night before the incident with the waiter. He told the court that he regrets what he did. "I am very disappointed in myself." His 32-year-old brother Arash got five years in prison. He acknowledged that his actions were "excessive" and "impulsive", but he added: "I did not start this fight and therefore cannot be held responsible for it."

The brothers were visiting Prague with a group of seven friends for a bachelor's party in April last year. They got into a fight with waiter Miroslav Vitek, who reprimanded them for bringing their own beer to a terrace. The waiter was severely injured in the fight, sustaining a broken eye socket, a broken jaw and a crushed ankle. The man is still working on his recovery. The Court of Appeal ruled that the brothers have to pay him almost 70 thousand euros in compensation.

Once the verdict against the brothers is final, they can choose to serve their sentence in the Netherlands. But their lawyer said that they may go into cassation. "They are relieved that it is not a higher sentence, but we think that part of the injury is due to the fall the waiter had before the fight. That is why we are considering cassation", the lawyer said after the ruling. He will discuss it with the brothers.