Gay man violently attacked in Amsterdam

DutchAmsterdam.nl — Two men violently beat up a gay man in Amsterdam because of his sexual orientation.

Witnesses have told police the men also used broken glass to cut the man’s face.

The attack, which occurred last Saturday, took place in the Reguliersdwarsstraat [Google Map] — the center of the Amsterdam gay scene.

The victim was an Englishman. The two suspects, 22 and 27 years old, are Amsterdam. Police is looking into reports of a possible third attacker.

The Public Prosecutor says the men will be charged with causing grievous bodily harm. Under Dutch law, should it be proven that the men acted out of homophobia, any resulting punishment will be increased by 50 percent.

Increase in anti-gay incidents

In 2009 there were 371 reports of gay-related incidents in Amsterdam. 82 of those cases involved physical violence. A year earlier there were 300 incidents, of which 54 included physical violence.

The COC, the oldest LGBT organization in the world, says it has noticed an increase in phone calls from people who have recently been verbally abused, intimidated, or psychologically abused. Many of these call come from the city’s Western boroughs — districts with a high concentration of Moroccan youths.

While the ethnicity of the suspects in the most recent case has not been reported many attacks on gays have reportedly been committed by young Dutch youths with a Moroccan background.
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