IJsselstein Man Jailed After 380‑Shot Roman Candle Fired at Police

Overview

• Police were targeted with a Roman candle that discharged about 380 shots during violent protests over a local asylum‑seeker centre, and at least one officer suffered a head injury from exploding fireworks.
• The Public Prosecution Service had sought ten months in prison for each of two men accused of attacking officers with fireworks and urged partial suspension of the younger suspect’s term.
• The younger defendant admitted lighting and firing the large Roman candle; the court found he intended serious harm and sentenced him to five months in prison, of which two months are conditional.
• The older defendant was acquitted after the judge concluded the evidence did not prove he intended to use the device against police despite testimony and images showing he brought the firework to the scene.
• The verdict highlights a split between the prosecution’s view of the events as organized violence and the court’s narrower assessment of individual guilt, a distinction that could affect future policing and prosecutions around anti‑asylum protests.