Prosecutor demands year in prison for Dusan Tadic robbery; Defendant blames twin brother

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended that the District Court of Amsterdam convict 20-year-old Amsterdam resident, Mohamed F., in the failed robbery of footballer Dusan Tadic. The former Ajax footballer was the target of an attack on the street at the end of July 2022. The OM wants F. to spend a year in prison for the attempted robbery, but F. has denied any involvement. "I had nothing to do with it," the rap musician said in an Amsterdam courtroom on Tuesday. His attorney seemed to point the finger at F.'s identical twin brother who did not cooperate in the investigation.

Tadic suffered minor injuries during the incident just after midnight on July 28, 2022. He was near his home in Amsterdam-Zuid when two men wearing helmets approached him after he parked his car on Van Eeghenstraat. He had just arrived back after having dinner with his agent.

Tadic grew suspiscious when he saw the two men duck behind a portable toilet. Tadic then ran off, at which point the men gave chase using a scooter. After zig-zagging between cars, Tadic found himself trapped. He was grabbed by the throat from behind, but in the ensuing struggle he managed to escape. The professional athlete fled into the Conservatorium Hotel with torn clothing.

The perpetrators did not manage to take anything during the robbery attempt, but they may have been trying to steal Tadic's expensive watch. During the criminal trial, it emerged that Mohamed F. was recognized by police officers who viewed surveillance camera footage. The images showed how the two perpetrators waited for Tadic for more than 30 minutes.

Afterwards, a tracking device was found under the victim's car. Everything points to evidence of a planned robbery, the prosecutor said.

F.'s lawyer says identical twin may have been responsible

The investigators recognized F. despite the fact he was wearing a helmet because of the unusual way in which he was smoking, by holding up two fingers. According to the defense attorney, the identification based on the surveillance footage was completely insufficient to be used as evidence, because F. has an identical twin brother with whom he shares all his clothing.

At the place where the robbers waited and threw away a cigarette butt, as could be seen in the images, the police found a cigarette butt with DNA trace evidence belonging to F. This is not direct proof, the defense attorney argued, because the twin brother has the same DNA, and the brother did not cooperate in additional DNA analysis.

The court will rule in F.'s case on January 2.

F.'s co-defendant was sentenced last February to six months in prison, of which two may be served on conditional release. He was convicted of public violence. In that case, prosecutors also demanded a 12-month prison sentence. That case was scheduled for an appellate court hearing.

A year after the robbery, Tadic left Ajax. He currently plays football for Fenerbahçe.