Prosecutors recommend 4.5 years in prison against leader of Eritrean riots in The Hague

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended 4.5 years in prison against 48-year-old Johannes A. on Wednesday at the court in The Hague for his role as leader and inciter during the violent riots in the Hague on February 17.

Two fellow suspects heard sentence recommendations of six and eight months in prison with two months conditionally suspended.

A demonstration of a few hundred Eritreans at an event center on the Fruitweg resulted in a battle with the police. The Eritreans, who were opponents of the totalitarian regime in their native country, wanted to block a meeting being held in the event center of a group of a group of Eritreans that are loyal to the regime.

The riots led to 750,000 euros worth of damage. Cars and a touring car went up in flames. Dozens of police employees filed a report. Many of them said that they had never seen such violence before.

A wedding and another party were being held at the event center at the time when hundreds of rioters stormed the building when around 1,500 people were inside. "The police had to protect the event center with all their power for over three hours," said the prosecutor. The prosecutor underlined the severity of the violence in a video compilation shown in court.

The OM added that A. is also guilty of incitement in similar riots in Germany in 2023. He was also involved in the burning of the touring car. The Public Prosecution Service also charged A. with insulting and threatening a woman from the pro-regime camp.

Prosecutors claim that Johannes A. is one of the leaders and founding members of the Brigade Nhamedu, which is a group that fights against the regime in Eritrea and its supporters in Europe. A. sees himself as an activist. He believes that the Dutch police have wrongly protected his opponents. A behavioral scientist believes that the likelihood that A. will commit "extremist acts" again is high.

The court delayed the case against a fourth suspect because the man only hired a lawyer on Wednesday.

Ten other suspects were sentenced to a maximum of 12 months in prison by the court in July. Another 20 suspects of the riots will be due in court in October and the beginning of next year.