AMSTERDAM — The public prosecutor demanded in the Breda Court on Tuesday a 15-year jail term against the main suspects accused of killing 18-year-old Tilburg man Bart Raaijmakers.

In a crime that sparked widespread condemnation, Raaijmakers was stabbed and killed in an armed robbery on 18 July last year. It is alleged he was stabbed after refusing to hand over his wallet.

The prosecution alleged 20-year-old B. G. was the one who stabbed Raaijmakers and demanded on Tuesday a 15-year jail term and compulsory TBS psychiatric treatment, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported.

The 19-year-old C. R., who stands accused of kicking the victim, faces a 15-year jail term without TBS detention. TBS sentences open up the possibility of life in jail because psychiatrists can recommend continued detention.

The other suspects — identified as 18-year-old R. A. and the 18-year-old G. de G. — face 12 years in jail for their alleged role in the stabbing.

Raaijmakers was riding his bike with his brother and a friend when four males on mopeds allegedly stopped them and demanded cash. The robbery escalated into a fight, in which Raaijmakers’ brother and friend escaped.

It is alleged that C. R. and B. G. then attacked Raaijmakers, and when he tried to stand up, B. G. stabbed him three times.

Due in part to the fact two of the four suspects are Antilleans, the crime sparked community outrage and concern about ethnic crime.

The late Tilburg Mayor Johan Stekelenburg launched a crackdown against the city’s criminal Antillean youth, but a local ethnic group claimed Antilleans were being stigmatised.

Meanwhile, the prosecution spoke on Tuesday of shocking facts and claimed that the four suspects had planned and carried out the robbery. It claimed three of them were carrying knives. They did not shirk from violence and none of them distanced themselves from the violence or tried to stop it, he said.

According to the prosecution, Raaijmakers stood no chance, and while senseless violence is a recurring theme, the killing of Raaijmakers was an example of excessive senseless violence, requiring a tough sentence.

The trial is continuing.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news