Prosecutor moves to drop charges in 2003 Rotterdam fatal stabbing case

A Libyan man who was suspected of fatally stabbing 33-year-old Lassaad Chourou in a Rotterdam home more than two decades ago likely acted in self-defense, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Friday. The District Court of Rotterdam has yet to decide whether it will approve dropping the charges against the suspect, 52-year-old Sofian A., who said he stabbed the victim after an argument turned violent.

A. vanished shortly after the 2003 incident at the residence on Duivenvoordestraat in the Middelland district, but trace evidence collected at the crime scene was registered in the national DNA database. Although witness statements and other evidence initially pointed towards him, the investigation eventually went cold.

In 2019, a DNA match showed that he was living in Sweden, where he was finally arrested in February this year and extradited to the Netherlands in March. Both the suspect and the victim were involved in the Rotterdam drug trade. On September 14, 2003, a quarrel broke out in Chourou’s home, and A. initially stabbed him in the neck.

During the struggle that followed, A. seized the knife and delivered a single fatal stab to the victim’s chest. In a state of panic, he asked several people in a nearby café to call emergency services before fleeing on a bicycle. Chourou was later found dead on the street in front of his home.

To check the accuracy of the suspect’s account, the police cold case team carried out a reconstruction of the events. The prosecutor acknowledged that parts of the statement could be challenged and that “the complete truth has not been uncovered,” but concluded that the overall evidence favors the suspect.

“The essential elements of his testimony hold up,” she said. “No other scenario has been established or found plausible.” She requested that the court drop all charges against A.

A.’s defense attorney likewise requested that the charges be dropped, while also arguing for a full acquittal, emphasizing that his client never intended to kill Chourou. The lawyer noted that A. avoided going to the police for more than two decades out of fear he would not be trusted. The suspect expressed that he is still “sad” about the incident and reflects on it daily. He wishes to return to Sweden.

The Rotterdam court is set to issue its ruling on January 16, though it could make an earlier decision regarding the continuation of A.’s pretrial detention.