{"id":4019,"date":"2013-11-23T12:48:03","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T12:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=4019"},"modified":"2013-11-23T12:48:03","modified_gmt":"2013-11-23T12:48:03","slug":"exclusive-first-hand-account-of-amsterdam-court-case-sham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=4019","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE – First Hand Account of Amsterdam Court Case (Sham)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to CarljungleBhoy for his first hand account of the court case. Hopefully this information will provide people with a clearer understanding of what really happened in the Amsterdam court on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Rechtbank, Parnassusweg (ParANUSweg?) 220, Amsterdam\u00a0 21 November +\/-13.15 to +\/-22.00<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t have the time\/brainpower\/energy to do this properly right now but here\u2019s my tired \u201cstream of consciousness\u201d take on what went down, with random \u2018highlights\u2019, based on my – almost illegible – notes. Not necessarily in chronological order. You have been warned!<\/p>\n

IF you want properly organized, coherent, PC stuff, in the correct order, check the live tweets from the courtroom at https:\/\/twitter.com\/strafzaken<\/a><\/p>\n

+\/13.15-13.45: Family get very little guidance on exactly where to go, or how long they needed to wait. <\/b>No clear information unless you go asking yourself – easier said than done in a foreign country when you\u2019re nervous. Nobody official offering help – Deliberate when dealing with family\/friends of \u201ccriminals\u201d???\u00a0 <\/b>Nobody from the British Consulate???<\/p>\n

Note to myself: Avoid Brit journos like the plague. Dutch are sympathetic. Brits are simply pathetic. Added later<\/i>: Shit! That bloke in the bog with Scottish accent was from the BBC! Glad the only thing I said was – why don\u2019t they have normal pish-against-the-wall gents bog thingees (urinals \u2013 Ed) instead of 2 x ladies sit-down WCs with blokes queuing up..?<\/p>\n

Family told they are only allowed in Public Gallery. Courtroom & surrounding areas choc a bloc with TV crews etc. Public Gallery: Upstairs. No phones or cameras, behind glass. At least 2 cops at all times. Not exactly comfortable.\u00a0 Everybody left space in front row seats for the family \u2013 best place for sound & vision (Naw! Not now Bowie!).<\/p>\n

Christian Visser\u2019s (CV) parents, sister & girlfriend all very helpful.\u00a0 Lovely people.\u00a0 CV\u2019s dad thought we were all family – I told him that\u2019s exactly what it feels like. We\u2019re all part of the Celtic Family. Micky from Dutch Assoc of Football Supporters (-ish) Nice bloke. Clever. 100% behind us .<\/p>\n

OK. Here we go\u2026<\/p>\n

Cue Cameras. Smile. Action\u2026<\/p>\n

First impressions.. Judge is a bit of a dick. Never been to a football match? Never been in a big crowd?<\/p>\n

Missing interpreters? Let me<\/i> do it and I\u2019ll give it the right spin!<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t like this. Already get the feeling he\u2019s very pro-police (Mickey & CV Snr agree)<\/p>\n

Police did NOT identify themselves as police. All 6 Bhoys say the same. All 6 accused all say the Romeos (undercover psychos) looked & acted like hooligans. All their statements at various times are 100% consistent on these points.<\/p>\n

Police took photos during\/after arrest then laughed about them (at Padraig?) Not 1 photo in any of the police files.<\/p>\n

Long discussion around whether video evidence is admissible or not and if so, what? If I understand correctly, Judge Dredd-ful\u00a0 is not interested in footage unless its directly relevant to the individual charges of the individuals charged. Videos relevant to explaining wider cause & effect are not allowed?\u00a0 Later. Yes!<\/p>\n

Tram footage not shown for same reason. Hmmn.Token gesture to the defence? Or removing lamppost bit?<\/p>\n

CV So far, Every word from defence makes sense and is clear and unequivocal to all. I would use stronger words, but then again cursing\u2019s not allowed.<\/p>\n

Ruling on point of law<\/span>. Chief of Police Pronker (Plonker?!) made a statement in newspaper (Volkskrant?) which negatively effects \u201dpresumption of innocence\u201d and is also inaccurate over drunkenness – Tainting the case in favour of the proscecution (henceforth known as prostitution). Judge dismissed this saying what the Chief of Police said didn\u2019t influence him one little bit. Tosser.<\/p>\n

Padraig (Thomas\/Andy?) video being played. Some problems getting to right place. CV (cleverly) finding reasons to wind back & forth to ensure nobody missed one kick, knee or blow. 2 of the Mums are crying. Gasping.\u00a0 CV showing slow-mo, winding back again. Argument over whether agent has hood up or not, like hooligan. Prostitutor: not completely\u00a0 – You can see a bit of his head.\u00a0 CV \u2013 Clearly.\u00a0 Also, one had trainer on, which CV points out are associated with Ajax hooligans. Judge didn\u2019t seem to know what he was talking about. Not a surprise\u00a0 (My granny\u2019s trendier and she\u2019s long since toasty breed) . What a total prick that man is.\u00a0 My god I don\u2019t believe what I\u2019ve just heard: Judge complaining about CV switching back & forth. \u201cthis is like watching a (cartoon?) video with my young daughter\u201d and this to a background of police violence that can make you weep FFS. Playing to the camera\u2019s \u2026 again!!!<\/i><\/p>\n

Note added\u00a0 later: Sound on video is very clear. Not once do we hear anybody, anywhere, shouting Police or anything similar! Who\u2019s lying here?<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not the Bhoys. It would be unfair of me to pick out any one individual because every single one of them was absolutely magnificent in my honest opinion on the stand. Dignified. Polite. Consistent AND\u00a0 – TRUTHFUL (a novel concept in this court), even if the truth worked against them (e.g. throwing cans). Even when the judge interrogated trying to catch them out (only the accused got this from the judge), they didn\u2019t falter one bit.<\/p>\n

Best bit was the spontaneous (-ish I think I started it)\u00a0 round of applause that broke out from the Public Gallery when an accused said that he\u2019d never, ever, in all his life been treated like this: i.e. attacked by plain clothes \u201chooligans\u201d who came running out of nowhere without identifying themselves and that it was very clear that the main cause of all the trouble was that the police failed miserably<\/i> in controlling things.\u00a0 Judge warned we\u2019d be thrown out of court if we made one more sound.<\/p>\n

On that subject. Yes. I admit I did make a few more sounds. Tuts. Snores. The odd phrase (Scandalous) \u2013 e.g. see my tweets on this. Bottom line was that I was the only true Celtic fan (discounting Christian Visser\u2019s family) in the P.G who spoke Dutch and understood\u00a0 (almost) all of what was being said during long incoherent rambles by the prossie. So I reacted when it was clear that statements being made were a bunch of lies. For example. The prossie\/judge claimed that the action by the Riot Police was completely within their normal methods and 100% appropriate\/proportional to the situation. Anybody who\u2019d seen the footage posted the previous day from the corner pub will have trouble accepting this. In passing, that\u2019s one of many instances where it seemed the judge hadn\u2019t really done his homework. That footage wasn\u2019t even mentioned once during the trial\u00a0 (reasons above?)<\/p>\n

Also. The judge talked total bloody pish half the time. What the hell did it matter exactly what type of beer was drunk, or what size of can, or how many? -. I know people who can get drunk on 3-4 cans but others who could drink 3 dozen (slight exaggeration) over a few hours and still be relatively sober.<\/p>\n

What the hell do we care (<cue for a song) that one of the accused did not have a Celtic shirt on? (his answer btw – it cost 50 quid & he could buy a normal shirt for that and<\/i> be allowed into pubs without hassle). What the fcuk was the judge trying to insinuate? It had everybody flummoxed then and I still don\u2019t get it now.<\/p>\n

How come the judge didn\u2019t notice that Padraig had a totally different accent from the rest? \u201cWhere in Scotland are you from?\u201d Again judge didn\u2019t do his homework.. What else was he doing but playing for the cameras and failing miserably to be funny when \u2013 after hearing one of the accused came from Kilmarnock said. \u2013 \u201cOh isn\u2019t that where Johnny Walker came from? –\u00a0 Both me, Micky & the 2 Dutch journo students sitting behind me had exactly the same thought: This judge is not only biased, he\u2019s a complete idiot!<\/p>\n

Oh. Yes. The Prosecutor. Boring twat. Lots & lots & lots & lots & lots of repetition.\u00a0 Playing to the cameras with how great Celitc fans are than putting the knife in.<\/p>\n

Waiting (im)patiently for prosecution evidence, rather than blah la blah\u2026 statement\u2026 Romeo # what. ..Blah Blah. Bottles thrown. Drunken Celtic fans. Only enough violence to control . Rules of engagement. Sounds like he\u2019s reading training manual. Snore. blah blah blah. Judge & Prostitute are BORING me.<\/p>\n

Lots of technical legalese. Might as well be Japanese. Overload of Dutch abbreviations which audience surely don\u2019t get? A.E, M.E, O.M.\u00a0 Aanhoudings Eenheid = Undercover scumbags. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou \u2026 ya lying bassa!\u00a0 M.E – Mobile – Eenheid\u00a0 = Riot Orcs. O.M\u00a0 Openbaar Ministerie aka Pubic (<sic) Prosecutors.<\/p>\n

I noted names of cops but started losing track on who fits with who & keep getting muddled up. Lots of S\u2019s. Might be good if we could see them from up here. Hibbink, Lottenberg, Schouten, Sap? Rens, Suurbier, Lof, Van E, Stuur, Saan? Straathof? SSSSSSSSSSS. Storley? Van Eijk?<\/p>\n

Constantly going on about drunken fans, throwing bottles . Endless lists of endless numbers of injuries suffered by endless poor policemen – none of which could possibly be caused by a (totally invisible) lamppost of course – and definitely caused by one or other of the accused which is very, very, very clear from the evidence \u2013 Except for the fact that there is NOT A SINGLE SHRED OF EVIDENCE or any corroboration other than what more than one policemen says in in their statement. Which brings me onto a couple of \u2013 in my eyes \u2013 crucial items\u2026.<\/p>\n

Police statements 15\/16 November.\u00a0 Although some police statements were dated earlier, the fact that the police had 9\/10 days to tweak statements to fit their story, or change them to cover online footage which had by then come to light, yet the judge chose to totally dismiss this, says enough about which way he was leaning. He did not see any reason to doubt or even question \u2013 even once \u2013 any single statement made by the police, irrespective of when those statements were made, or even when they contained clearly confused or conflicting details.<\/i><\/p>\n

Reason given by the police that could not produce any evidence to prove that so-and-so had actually done what he was accused of e.g punching or violently assaulting poor Romeo – was that, in at least 2 cases\u00a0 (Padraig & Thomas?) the assault they were accused of, and want to send them to prison for, apparently happened before<\/i> they kicked the shit out of them (sorry \u201capplied appropriate force to stop them resisting arrest\u201d) and that just happened to have taken place out of sight behind a large police van \/ bus, and was therefore not visible on camera. What do they think we are \u2013 total bloody idiots? Oh yeah, before I forget – What exactly happened to all the Dam Webcam footage from EIGHT different positions and how come that wasn\u2019t available or even\u00a0 mentioned? I remember watching web cam footage of happy Celtic fans singing & dancing up until about 5 o\u2019clock when I left work to go home for my dinner and pick my son up to go to the match. Here have a wee look right\u00a0 now\u2026\u00a0 http:\/\/hdtv.webcam.nl\/website\/page1\/page7\/h264_streaming_video.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Did nobody ask for that footage to be kept? (incompetence!) Or is there an even more obvious reason \u2013 Perhaps it doesn\u2019t fit the Police story? Perhaps it contains even worse footage than we\u2019ve seen to date \u2013 such as people getting their legs broken in 3 places? Oh BTW the judge said there was no proof of that other than the fact his leg was broken in 3 places. It could have happened anytime.\u00a0 He almost – but not quite-\u00a0 said that he deliberately broke his leg in 3 places himself and it nothing to do with the police.\u00a0 Which reminds me\u2026..<\/p>\n

The judge didn\u2019t allow any more defence witnesses to be called – e.g. Padraig\u2019s girlfriend – as they \u201ccouldn\u2019t add anything to the picture\u201d – how about corroborating his statement – and then came up with this ludicrous comment along the lines of\u00a0 \u201cwe can hardly call every one of the 2000 people on the Dam that day to give evidence\u201d – which he seemed to think was really stormed the heights of comic genius.<\/p>\n

Another very troubling fact about this (SligoBhoy take a bow for the tip) \u2013 very close to being sinister – is that according to the Dutch Press Bureau (ANP) – King Willem Alexander and his Argentian wife were actually in the Palace on the Dam between 4 and 6 o\u2019clock on 6 November performing an official prize-giving ceremony, in the exact <\/i>same timeframe that \u201cfestivities\u201d on the Dam reached their peak. If they were due to leave around 6 PM, isn\u2019t it a truly amazing coincidence that all hell broke out just before, and just in time, to clear the Dam\u00a0 between +\/-17.20 and +\/-17.55? Was there an urgent need \/order given to clear the Dam before 6pm by any means, that has not even been mentioned\/noticed here in Holland? Yeah, OK, OK I\u2019m paranoid, but it IS strange\u2026<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m starting to struggle to see which things are still important enough to mention, and are still clear enough in my notes to read\u2026so I\u2019ll need to wind down. BTW Details on the sentences, damage claim amounts, full names of the 6 Celts are all available elsewhere. And all the personal details of the 6 \u2013 income, family situation etc. etc.\u2013\u00a0 are nobody\u2019s bloody business but their own, so don\u2019t expect me to tell you.<\/p>\n

Totally random items: There were loads of factual inconsistencies in police evidence \u2013 again not really questioned by the judge-\u00a0 Here\u2019s a few I noted\u2026.<\/p>\n

The WINE BOTTLE which – after being thrown- and hitting a policeman somewhere \u2013 possibly once, maybe twice and maybe damaging his lips and eyes, or just his nose, or maybe all 3- mysteriously changed into a BEER CAN. Now that\u2019s one even Jesus would struggle with!<\/p>\n

Well, to be honest the multiple vs single injuries item came up in another context of another attack and I\u2019ve married them here, but the above is nevertheless representative of the level of innaccuracy which totally escaped any questions from the Judge.<\/p>\n

In addition to being very, erm, judgemental about the drink, the judge was also uber-judgemental when it came to the another point of law, namely the \u201cit\u2019s his word against mine\u201d dilemma, which he solved with astounding juducial wisdom. Despite the fact all 6 Bhoys, who didn\u2019t know each other, all said exactly the same things independently and were consistant all the time was not as strong as the fact that at least 1 other policeman, backed up what another had said. So this meant it wasn\u2019t just 1 man\u2019s word. The judge therefore found that there was no reason to doubt any <\/i>of the policemens words, whereas \u201cwe only have the accused\u2019s word for it\u201d that what he said was true, to what happened to him. At this point there was a creaking sound as Solomon turned in his grave.<\/p>\n

The case of the missing camouflage jacket, which seems capable of being both there and not there at the same time. By the way why was<\/i> Padraig checked late at night and notes taken about what he was wearing then?\u00a0 There was also another jacket which may have also changed colour from Green to Black or Black to Green or back to black (perhaps after being scared by the ghost of Amy Winehouse.Sorry)<\/p>\n

The difference between 1 of the accused having blonde hair, which changed to red-blonde, which changed to red or was it light ginger, or maybe it was an error in translation, or maybe it was very short or not, or longer.\u00a0 Obviously we must dismiss the possibility that all 6 of the accused are metrosexuals with 24 hour access to hairdressers and Boots The Chemist. Sorry I\u2019m getting silly now* – this is serious stuff. By the way can I mention that despite everything, the accused & their families still \u2013 at times \u2013 showed they hadn\u2019t lost their sense of humour so I\u2019m hopeful most will not take offence at my flippancy.<\/p>\n

Anyway. I\u2019m sure loads more would come to me if I just get some sleep \u2013 I might come back & tidy up or add more another day , but let me summarize quickly:-<\/p>\n

THIS TRIAL WAS A TOTAL FARCE:<\/p>\n

THE CONCEPT OF INNOCENT UNTIL<\/b> PROVEN GUILTY<\/b> APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN LOST SOMEWHERE UP THE NETHER REGIONS OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF DUTCH LAW.<\/p>\n

BUT, WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE GET JUSTICE!\u00a0 Because\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere\u201d \u2013 Martin Luther King Jnr<\/p>\n

Foodnote: Nobody in the Public gallery had eaten the whole day and there was NOTHING after 6. No food , No Drinks. No Water. No Coffee. Nothing \u2013 This was resolved by a mad dash to a Burger King just in time to get back before re-start!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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