Two men sentenced to jail time for fatal stabbing at wedding party in Beverwijk

The court has sentenced two men aged 24 and 22 to prison sentences of nine and 3,5 years for their part in a deadly stabbing in Beverwijk on October 19, 2022. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had recommended jail sentences of eight and 12 years, respectively, against Abdirahman A. (22) and Abduwahab A. The punishment for Abdirahman of 3,5 years in prison contains one year which may be suspended if the suspect adheres to certain conditions.

Both men from Hilversum with Somali heritage were guests at a wedding party in the party center on the day of the incident. For reasons that are still unknown, there was an exchange of words between several guests, which quickly led to a violent confrontation in the street. A man was stabbed in an arm during the fight, and another was stabbed in his leg and hip. A 20-year-old man from Purmerend did not survive a stab in the abdomen.

The OM and the suspects' defense had completely different views regarding the events in the case. Prosecutors accused the armed men in the confrontation with the knife of having deliberately sought the attack several times. Both men's defense teams stated that the two men were attacked by an aggressive and much larger group and grabbed the knife in panic to defend themselves. They also think that a lot of the witness testimony was biased because they have come from acquaintances of the fatal victim.

At Schiphol, the court emphasized on Friday that it used a part of the evidence "with due caution." At the same time, they felt without doubt that both men were not assaulted but went on the attack on several occasions. This was especially true for Abduwahab A.

He was given the highest punishment out of the two because he committed the fatal stabbing of the 20-year-old from Purmerend but also stabbed another man who was on the ground shortly before it. He was only slightly injured because he was able to deflect the stab wounds aimed at his upper body.

Abdirahman A. was given a much lower sentence than what was recommended by prosecutors because the court acquitted him of involvement in the fatal stabbing. He did, however, stab a guest at the wedding party in the leg and played an "escalating role" because he was the first person to pull a knife initially.

"It was a very dangerous weapon which easily could have resulted in fatal injuries. We blame you for having it with you," the court added.