Man with leading role in Eritrean riots in The Hague to serve four-year jail sentence

The court in The Hague sentenced 48-year-old Johannes A. to four years in jail on Monday for having a leading role in the riots in The Hague on February 17. Hundreds of Eritreans protested on that day against a meeting of a group of Eritreans loyal to the regime in the country in an event center on the Fruitweg. The demonstration resulted in a battle with police that lasted hours.

It led to 750,000 euros in damage. Cars and a tour coach were burned. Dozens of police officers reported the incidents as many of them were injured on the night. "The violence was of unprecedented intensity," the court said. The court honored claims for damages submitted by officers.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had recommended 4.5 years in jail against A. The conviction also consists of charges related to insulting and threatening an Eritrean woman and two cases of sedition.

Two fellow suspects were sentenced to seven months in prison, each with two months of those conditionally suspended, after the OM had recommended six and eight months in jail with two of those conditionally suspended. They participated in the violence but had a much smaller role than A.

The location of the meeting of the Nederlandse Federatie Eritrese Gemeenschappen, the Dutch Federation of Eritrean Communities in English (The Hague event center), had been kept secret but was discovered by a group of opponents to the Eritrean regime. There were also other events going on at the center at the time; around 1,500 people were inside. According to the court, they experienced some "terrifying hours. "The "continuous deployment of the police and riot police" prevented the rioters from entering the center.

According to the court, Johannes A. is "a leading figure within the part of the Eritrean community that opposes the current regime." He did not just play a leading role by riling others up but was also actively involved in the violence and was involved in setting the tour coach alight. He gave a speech to others in the Zuiderpark after the riots, which included glorifying the violence. "Many opponents of the regime take his statements seriously because of his authority."

The court convicted ten other suspects to a maximum of 12 months in prison in July with a part of those sentences conditionally suspended. Another 20 rioters will be in court for the riots in October and the beginning of November.