Almelo district court has sentenced a cafe owner to nine years in jail for taking a city council executive and four other people hostage in the town hall last year.

Ahmet O was found not guilty of attempted murder. The public prosecution department had called for a 17-year sentence.
The siege in June 2008 began after O was apparently refused a licence for his cafe. First he set the cafe on fire and then drove to the town hall where he set fire to his car. Armed with a pistol, he forced his way into the building and took five people hostage.