Prosecutors have demanded sentences of up to 10 years for eight men accused of being involved in a fatal attack outside a bar on the Spanish island of Majorca.

Carlo Heuvelman, 27, died after being kicked repeatedly in the head during a brawl which broke out in July 2021 over a bar stool. He fell into a coma and died later in hospital.

The case was moved to the Netherlands at the request of the Spanish authorities because the victim and all nine defendants are Dutch.

Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence the three main suspects, who are charged with murder, to between eight and 10 years in jail. Samil B., who faces a 10-year term, is alleged to have been involved in all the multiple fights that broke out around the bar.

The prosecution said there were traces of Heuvelman’s DNA on B.’s shoes, but in court he denied kicking the victim. All the suspects, who range in age from 18 to 20, admitted taking part in the brawl but insist they did not attack Heuvelman.

Heuvelman was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and his life ended ‘in a matter of seconds,’ the prosecution said. He was on a night out with a group of friends, several of whom were also wounded during the fighting.

Euphoria

‘The only thing that mattered to the suspects was the euphoria that “they had done a good job”‘ the prosecution lawyer told the court in Lelystad. ‘Kicking had was an extremely consistent action.’

The suspects, from Hilversum, were staying in a villa on the island at the time. All but one of them fled to the Netherlands after the incident, except for one who was holding the key to the rental property.

Five other suspects accused of assault and violent disorder face sentences of up to a year and a half in jail or community service penalties.

A ninth defendant should be acquitted, the prosecution said during the pre-sentencing hearing. A verdict is expected on November 18.