After months of debate on the matter, 154 AZ Alkmaar soccer fans will not face prosecution despite being arrested for antisemitic chants on a metro, as reported by Dutch news site NU.
The event occurred on Saturday, May 6, during the evening of the Eredivisie match between Ajax Football Club and AZ.
According to the reports, the metro, traveling from Amsterdam Central Station to the Johan Cruijff ArenA, had to be stopped due to the escalating situation. The fans, fervent supporters of the AZ club, were defiant in the face of multiple police warnings to halt their chants, leading to their eventual arrest.
NU further explained the complexities of the judicial decision, "The challenge in pressing charges stems from the focus of criminal law on individuals. For prosecution to take place, it is essential to determine an individual's role in the offense. Following extensive investigations, the police couldn't procure any decisive evidence." This absence of conclusive proof led the Public Prosecution Service to announce that no specific individual could be linked to the group insult.
Dutch Jews hit out at court decision
This decision has been met with significant backlash.
Naomi Mestrum, director of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI), shared her concerns with NU. She remarked, "It's disheartening to see the police's commendable efforts being thwarted by the judiciary. This outcome suggests that people can evade consequences when actions are committed as a group."
Mestrum stressed the significance of addressing the recurring issue of antisemitic chants and underscored their emotional toll on the Jewish community. The CIDI director also expressed hope for greater focus from law enforcement agencies in identifying instigators in such group offenses.
Eddo Verdoner, the National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism, continued this sentiment on a social platform, emphasizing that individuals should not feel shielded by group anonymity. "Individuals shouldn't feel that they can hide within a group,” he tweeted, adding that “it's unfortunate that no prosecution will follow.”
“Addressing antisemitic chants via the legal system remains of utmost importance,” Verdoner concluded.