Court suspends detention of underage boy suspected in Baudet beer bottle attack

The underage suspect from Groningen who was still in custody for the attack on Thierry Baudet in a café last month has been released on conditions by the court, the Public Prosecution Service reported on Thursday.

De raadkamer van de rechtbank in Noord-Nederland heeft vandaag besloten dat de voorlopige hechtenis van een minderjarige jongen uit Groningen wordt geschorst. Dat betekent dat hij onder voorwaarden in vrijheid zal worden gesteld. (1/2)

— OM Noord-Nederland (@OM_NoordNL) December 7, 2023

The leader of the far-right party Forum for Democracy was struck on the head with a beer bottle at an election event in a café in Groningen on November 20, 2023. Following the attack, Baudet was treated for head injuries at a Groningen hospital. He later described the incident as “a political attack.”

According to Dagblad van het Noorden, the court decided on Thursday to suspend the pre-trial detention of the main suspect. He was the first of two suspects to be arrested immediately after the incident. A second suspect, also an underage boy, had already been released but remains a suspect in the case.

According to the Dagblad van het Noorden, the two suspects are twin brothers. The lawyer of the boy released on Thursday told the regional newspaper that his client "was there, but did nothing."

Due to the suspect being a minor, the Public Prosecution Service could not provide information about the identity of the suspect released on Thursday and the terms of his release.

The OM previously described the suspicion of the two suspects as “serious.” “The reality is that two young people are suspected of (involvement in) a criminal offense involving the assault of a politician. This assault has had a significant social impact,” the OM stated.