Youth jailed for 3 years for role in Joos killing

26 March 2004

AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam Court jailed a 17-year-old youth for three years on Friday, convicting him of initiating the violence that led to the death of heroin addict Anja Joos in October 2003.

The 43-year-old woman was suspected of stealing a can of beer from an Amsterdam supermarket in the Pijp. She was beaten and kicked on the nearby Gerard Douplein and died shortly after in hospital.

The court found that Said B. played a crucial role in the killing by laying in a kick which knocked her to the ground. The 19-year-old Mohamed G. was found guilty of kicking Joos twice and was sentenced to 18 months jail.

The court also hinted that it wanted to impose a tougher penalty on G., but that it was prevented from doing so due to the charges laid against him. G. was charged with manslaughter, but was only convicted of a more minor charge.

The prosecution refused to expand its list of charges and the judge said the sentence was not socially desirable and “cannot be explained to non-lawyers”, news agency ANP reported.

G. was classified by the prosecution as the main suspect in the case. The prosecution thus demanded a seven-year jail term, but he was eventually convicted on a charge of public violence resulting in physical injury. The prosecution has appealed.

Four other young men were sentenced to jail terms ranging from nine to 12 months, while two other male suspects were acquitted.

Despite proving her innocence of theft, the German-born Joos was violently assaulted after she made racist remarks. Several people witnessed the assault.

The HIV-positive former prostitute was buried in Amsterdam on Friday 17 October.

The case, which involved defendants from a Moroccan background, caused great unrest in Amsterdam and helped to focus concerns on “ethnic violence”. A silent march with 1,000 participants was held in her honour.

The mere fact that a person could be killed for making rude, albeit racist, remarks also shocked the country. It was suggested at the time that Joos had also made derogatory remarks about Moroccans on previous occasions.

Subject: Dutch news