British man sentenced to two months in prison for role in UvA demonstrations

The police judge in Amsterdam has sentenced University of Amsterdam (UvA) demonstrator Toby B. (22) to two months in jail with one month conditionally suspended for violence against the police. While the British man was convicted, the court acquitted another suspect, Hamza A., for allegedly throwing a rock at police.

The judge believes it was proven that B. hit police with the sharp part of an umbrella and resisted arrest during the pro-Palestinian protest on May 7 at the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam. The judge said that there was not conclusive evidence proving the accusation that the suspect threw a rock at police. This is why the punishment was lower than the prosecutor's recommendation of three months in jail.

Statements made by the police, and camera footage presented as evidence, indicated B. was standing on a barricade and swatting police with the umbrella despite the chaotic situation and it being dark at the time, according to the judge. She called it "disrespectful behavior towards police, the people who are there for our freedom." She added that the people who use violence ruin everything for people who do want to demonstrate peacefully.

B., who has no crime record and came to the Netherlands from the United Kingdom for his studies, did not use his right to speak regarding the incidents. His lawyer asked the judge to acquit her client due to lack of evidence demonstrating his involvement regarding violence directed towards the police.

Hamza A. was acquitted of the accusation that he threw rocks at the police. The judge said there was too much doubt of whether he was the person who threw the rock at the police, as the Public Prosecution Service (OM) claimed.

The OM recommended three months in prison against the 33-year-old Amsterdammer. The prosecutor said that he threw rocks at the police during the protest on May 7. He based this on the findings and testimony from three officers.

The Amsterdammer denies having done this. His lawyer asked for an acquittal. According to her, it was evident that the police had arrested the wrong person. "It wasn't him."

Camera footage presented during the hearing depicted someone beside A. throwing a rock. The suspect said that he did not intend to hurt any police officers. "My intention was to keep the barricade standing as soon as the digger arrived."

The chaotic situation, the officers' distance, and the fact that it was dark made the judge believe that a case of mistaken identity was possible. "Officers can make mistakes, too. If there is this much doubt, then the law says you must acquit."

The Amsterdammer had been remanded for the last ten days. The OM has two weeks to appeal the decision.

The decision was met with loud cheers from the public stand, where more than 20 supporters had attended the hearing.