Acquittal requested for 7 Eindhoven terrorism suspects; Prison demanded for other 2

On Tuesday, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded four and three years in prison against two of the nine men arrested in Eindhoven on suspicion of terrorism in September last year. The OM requested acquittal for the other seven suspects because it had doubts about whether they wanted to commit a terrorist crime or were only talking along.

One of the suspects, Marwan M. (27), had 47 gruesome videos of ISIS executions on his phone. According to the public prosecutor, he was fascinated with violence and trained “in preparation for the jihadist struggle.” He also followed shooting training in Bulgaria with co-defendant Mohammad G. (27). The prosecutor demanded four years in prison against M. and three years in prison against G. The prosecutor said it was disappointing that M.’s friends did not stop him or pay more attention to his problems.

The nine men trained together in a gym set up in a garage box when the gyms were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the OM, the garage box was a training center where the group prepared itself physically and mentally for an attack in the spirit of the violent jihad.

According to the OM, the group members, ranging in age from 19 to 32, regularly watched ISIS videos and instructional videos about making weapons and bombs together and talked about planned attacks. The authorities found no weapons or explosives nor concrete plans or dates for an attack. But according to the OM, this is not necessary to prove that M. and G. intended to commit a terrorist crime.

The Eindhoven suspects deny all the allegations. According to them, they made inappropriate comments, but they did so in a “joyful and joking atmosphere,” and the statements can not be taken seriously. They were released from pre-trial custody in May.

The court set over ten days aside for handling this case up to and including January. At an earlier hearing at the end of f November, a radicalization expert said the suspects made their extremist statements in the context of “humor and self-mockery.” After speaking with the suspects, he concluded that they had no “ideological legitimization of violence.”

The OM now believes that they did not form a terrorist organization. “We have become convinced that the group of suspects is a close-knit group of friends. We do not see any collaboration that aims to commit terrorist crimes,” said the prosecutor.

The defense will make their pleas on 16 and 17 January. The remaining court days will likely be canceled. The court tentatively scheduled the ruling for 14 March 2023.