Metro station tapes yield no evidence to prosecute Maccabi fans for Amsterdam assault

Security camera footage from the GVB yielded no new evidence for the prosecution of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for the assault of a woman in the Amsterdam Central metro station in November 2024, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) told AT5. With no new evidence, the case is at an impasse.

The case in question was filed by a woman AT5 dubbed Sara, whose real name is known to the broadcaster. In November 2024, she shouted “free Palestine” at a group of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who were in the Dutch capital for a now infamous match against Ajax, around which days of riots broke out.

“I turned around. I was spat on by a boy and hit on the shoulder by one person. Then I thought I was safe, but then two ladies came after me and pulled my hair. I pushed them away, and then I left the station,” Sara told AT5.

She reported the assault to the police, strongly requesting that the footage from the metro station be secured, and has been waiting for months for a response from the OM. Initially, the public transport company GVB said that the footage had been lost during the replacement of systems. Months later, they found the footage in secure storage. Now the OM says they contained no evidence.

"When reviewing the footage, a targeted search was conducted for the assault and spitting alleged by the victim. Those facts were not observed. Subsequently, the police contacted the woman to obtain a more detailed description of what she looked like at the time, but this did not lead to any other findings,” the OM told AT5. Without evidence, the authorities can not identify or prosecute the perpetrators.

Sara’s lawyer, Adem Çatbas, called it unbelievable that the authorities could find no evidence. “Anyone who goes to Amsterdam Central metro station sees that it is teeming with cameras. Everything there has been recorded as well as possible. It cannot be the case that the footage does not exist.”

Sara has decided to initiate an Article 12 procedure to try to force the prosecution of the people who assaulted her. Prosecution of the perpetrators is the main goal, Çatbas told AT5. “Our second goal is to uncover everything that remains.”

Çatbas also represents other people who filed reports against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, including three taxi drivers who reported being assaulted by the Israeli football fans. One is a taxi driver who was attacked with a chain lock on Rokin. That case is currently with the OM to decide on prosecution. The OM already dismissed two other cases of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans pelting taxi drivers with bottles.

AT5 did not report the lawyer saying that the Dutch authorities are dragging their feet on these cases to avoid a diplomatic incident with Israel, but the implication was there.

"There were so many officers, so many cameras, and not a single piece of evidence. I just find that very striking," Sara said to the broadcaster.