On Monday, the substantive treatment of the death of Bas van Wijk in Amsterdam will start in the court of Amsterdam. This 24-year-old man was shot dead in August last year when he became involved in a conflict. What happened that day?
The important legal question that will be asked is what happened before Bas’s death. Was he shot by Samir el Y. because El Y. wanted to steal a watch? Or did it happen after a conflict, where El Y. still took the watch?
If murder cannot be proven, the answer to that question is the difference between manslaughter and legal manslaughter. In the latter case, it means that someone has been killed to conceal another act and that is usually punished more severely. But what happened on that day?
It is sweltering hot on Saturday, August 8. The Netherlands is at the start of a heat wave that would end on August 18. On August 8, the highest temperature of 34.6 degrees is measured in De Bilt.
Bas and his friends therefore seek cooling off at the Nieuwe Meer, part of the nature and recreation area De Oeverlanden on the southwest side of Amsterdam. Like many others that day, they find a place at the bathing jetty on the Anton Schleperspad.
The bathing jetty where Bas van Wijk was shot
The bathing jetty where Bas van Wijk was shot Photo: Law enforcement
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Irritation prior to shooting incident
Towards the end of the afternoon, irritation arises between Bas’s group of friends and people around El Y. Looks are exchanged and Bas’s friends suspect that the boys are after a watch belonging to one of them, an imitation of a gold Rolex.
The irritation turns into conflict when El Y. shouts something like, “Who watched so long?” Not much later, a friend of Bas and 21-year-old El Y. face each other head to head.
“Should I shoot you through your cancerous knee?”, A witness reproduces El Y’s words. “I’m not joking. I’m not bluffing, I’m just doing it,” and the man pulls the trigger. The bullet lands in the ground.
When El Y. then asks for the Rolex, Bas intervenes and is shot at some point, after which the suspect still runs off with the watch. Help comes too late for Bas. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Man confessed to shooting Bas
His death causes a shock and in his hometown Badhoevedorp a silent march is held for Bas on 14 August. Attendees wear shirts with ‘our hero’ and #AllesisvoorBassie on it.
El Y. was arrested two days before the trip. In one of his first interrogations, he confesses his deed. At his direction, the watch and weapon are found in a hidden space in a car.
In addition to the suspicion of shooting Bas, El Y. is also prosecuted for arms trafficking.
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