Court acquits nine suspects accused of plotting terrorist attack in Eindhoven

On Tuesday, the court at Schiphol acquitted nine men suspected of preparing a terrorist attack from a garage in Eindhoven. They were arrested in September 2021.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had previously demanded acquittal against seven suspects, a sentence of four years in prison against Marwan M., and a three-year sentence for Mohammad G. Both M. and G. are 27 years of age. During a coronavirus lockdown in 2021, the men trained together in a garage because the gyms were closed. During their training sessions, M. and G. allegedly pushed the others to plan and commit a terrorist attack. However, the court also acquitted them.

The suspects and their family and friends embraced each other extensively after the verdict.

According to the court, there was no evidence of the suspects' intentions. "You have studied IS propaganda and rhetoric for a long time and intensively, but it has not become apparent that a process of radicalization process has taken place within you." The court continued, "A close-knit group of friends cannot immediately be regarded as a collaborative terrorist cell."

Together, the group members, aged between 19 and 32, watched IS films and instructional videos about making weapons and bombs, and talked about attacks. No weapons or explosives were found. According to the court, there were also no concrete plans or dates for an attack. No indications were found on their phones or in their personal spaces that showed they actually had the intention to commit an attack.

The men also denied that they were seriously involved in planning an attack. They acknowledged making off-color comments, but that was also meant to be purely in a "joyful and joking atmosphere."

The lawyer for the main suspect said the acquittal was the right thing to do. "It's nice that the court has determined that [the] client and the others had no evil intentions."