The reaction of a 20-year-old Dutch woman ignited strong emotions and quickly spread on social media after an Amsterdam court sentenced her attacker, a man accused of attempted rape and attempted murder, to only a few years in prison. Many consider the sentence to be grossly lenient.
The attack took place in Amsterdam’s Westerpark last May. The defendant, 26-year-old Somali Mohamed H., reportedly strangled the victim for several minutes while threatening to kill her, assaulting her, and attempting to rape her. According to reports, the police arrived at the scene at the last minute, preventing the rape and potentially a murder.
The court sentenced Mohamed H. to only 3.5 years in prison, despite the fact that he is a repeat offender, with a more-than-eight-pages-long criminal record. According to the judge’s reasoning, there was doubt as to whether the force and duration of the strangulation would have been sufficient to kill the victim. At the trial, the young woman reacted with disbelief to the decision, saying that she had been strangled for a long time and with great force.
The case sparked heated debate on social media and in public life, with many citing the insensitivity of the justice system towards victims, while others referred to the strict standards of criminal evidence.
On January 29th, one day before the Amsterdam court handed down the sentence, the trial of two Afghan nationals accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in a park began in the UK. The two Afghan asylum seekers who targeted the girl in Warwickshire last July reportedly also took photos of the crime. The Warwick court heard that one of the defendants laughed while committing the alleged assault. Former British PM Liz Truss reacted on X, demanding that the Human Rights Act be repealed and the UK leave the Refugee Convention. Elon Musk shared Truss’ tweet, saying
Any government that prioritizes the rights of fake ‘asylum seekers’ over the brutal rape or murder of their own children is psychotic evil and completely illegitimate!
