Photo: Forum voor Democratie, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
18 days in detention and 80 hours of community service—that’s what a Dutch prosecutor finds to be a reasonable punishment for the young man who a year ago attacked Forum for Democracy (FvD) leader Thierry Baudet with a glass bottle.
The prosecution is asking for 138 days of juvenile detention, of which 120 days conditional, and 80 hours of community service for what text messages, along with the boy’s own statements, led to a charge of premeditated aggravated assault. The case against a second suspect has been dropped due to lack of evidence, Dutch media outlet NOS reports.
A mere two days before the Dutch national elections last fall, Baudet, the leader of the eurosceptic, anti-mass migration party, was speaking at a bar in the northern city of Groningen when the then-15-year-old, pretending to want a selfie with the politician, picked up a bottle and hit Baudet over the head. The Antifa group AFA Noord, present in the bar to protest Baudet’s appearance, initially claimed responsibility but later retracted their statement.
Baudet said at the time that it was a “political attack” on his party’s beliefs:
People I represent also feel threatened to express their opinion.
A month prior, Baudet suffered a concussion after being attacked in Ghent by a Ukrainian man who struck him with an umbrella. The situation raised questions about the lack of security for the firebrand politician. That assailant was let go with a warning.
Political violence against right-wing politicians in the Netherlands should be more of a serious concern than the recent slap-on-the-wrist sentences seem to show, given the country’s history. In 2002, Pim Fortuyn, a populist anti-immigration politician, was assassinated while on the campaign trail. His assassin was sentenced to 18 years in prison but was released on parole in 2014. Last fall’s election winner and Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders has lived under police protection for the last 20 years after a price was put on his head by Islamists.
The Groeningen court will rule on the case in two weeks. If it goes along with the prosecution, the accused will be released as he has already served the 18 days in pre-detention.