Teens sentenced to prison, treatment for killing Syrian asylum seeker, 15, in Enschede
Five young men have been sentenced in the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmed Krd Hsan on the night of December 22, 2023, a court called “a senseless and excessive outbreak of violence,” according to RTV Oost.
The attack occurred near the Irenegarage after a confrontation earlier in the city center at Langestraat near a KFC and Bakker Bart. According to police, both groups claim to have been provoked. The Dutch youths alleged the Syrian group threw fireworks, played rap music, and drank alcohol. The Syrian teens said they were verbally abused.
When the groups encountered each other at Van Lochemstraat, the situation escalated. The Dutch youths reportedly ran toward the Syrian teens and attacked with knives. Krd Hsan was fatally stabbed in the chest and lungs, while a friend survived narrowly.
The two main suspects received the longest sentences. Daniël L.P., 22, of Enschede, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The court determined he was one of the group who stabbed Krd Hsan, though L.P. has denied ever carrying a knife that evening and criticized the judges as “biased” during the trial.
Co-defendant Kewin K., 21, also known as Rapha, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will undergo a TBS treatment—a compulsory psychiatric program—after serving his sentence.
The court said, “At a very young age, the suspect has already been convicted multiple times for violent crimes. The risk of repeating similar offenses is considered high without treatment.”
Rapha’s peers described him as a gangster, a claim he strongly contested in court. “They all want to drink with me, they want my alcohol. But when it comes down to it, they pin everything on me and call me a loser,” he said.
A third attacker received a 17-month sentence in juvenile detention, including six months conditional, along with one year of youth rehabilitation treatment.
Two other minor suspects were convicted of public violence. The youngest, 15, received nine months of juvenile detention and a conditional youth TBS. The 18-year-old received a 10-month prison sentence, with more than half suspended.
