Police searching for suspect in photojournalist's assault at Ajax celebration
Police shared photos on Wednesday of one of the people suspected in the assault on a 61-year-old press photographer in early May. This happened at the unplanned ceremony and celebration in Amsterdam after Ajax secured the national football championship.
The man in the images is suspected by police of having thrown a heavy object at the head of the photographer. The photographer, who works for an international news agency, was on Johan Cruijff Boulevard taking pictures of the championship party. He did this from several vantage points, according to the police.
As the photographer started to walk to another spot, he passed a group of two or three men. He quickly moved on, feeling unsafe from the way they looked at him. Then someone shouted an insulting comment at him, referencing his work as a press photographer, police said. The photographer was then kicked in the back and something was thrown at his head. The photographer ran off to a safe location.
The police hopes to determine the identity of the suspect by sharing photos. It is believed that someone else was also involved in the assault, namely the person who kicked the photographer in the back. The police call it "very bad" that the press photographer was not able to work safely as a journalist.
Reporting by ANP