Bilal Bichr (22) stabbed to death on Plein ’40-’45 by local acquaintance.

The 22-year-old Bilal Bichr was stabbed on 2 July 2019 around 2:00 p.m. on Plein ’40-’45 in Amsterdam-Nieuw-West. He was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. The suspect was Hakim A., then 33 years old, who was arrested shortly after the stabbing near a primary school about 400 metres from the square. According to AT5, he had entered the school while covered in blood, taken a tea towel to stop the bleeding and smoked a cigarette on the school playground. Hakim A. and Bilal Bichr knew each other and had already argued a few days before the fatal stabbing. On 2 July, they met again on Plein ’40-’45 and another confrontation followed. According to the court, Bilal Bichr threatened Hakim A. with a screwdriver. Hakim A. then entered a Jumbo supermarket, stole a large meat knife and later sought out the confrontation again. He ultimately stabbed Bilal Bichr in the abdomen with the knife; Hakim A. himself also suffered a large cut to his arm. The Public Prosecution Service demanded 12 years in prison and did not accept that Hakim A. had acted in self-defence. Hakim A. stated that he had defended his life and that the stabbing had not been planned. The court rejected the self-defence claim, ruling that Hakim A. had several opportunities to walk away and end the confrontation, but instead continued to seek out the victim. On 26 June 2020, the court sentenced Hakim A. to 11 years in prison for manslaughter. The court took into account that the stabbing happened in broad daylight on a busy square, meaning many bystanders witnessed the violence, and that the young victim’s relatives had suffered immense grief.