Itzhak Meiri (56) shot dead on street in Wieringerstraat, Amstelveen

On 22 December 2021, 56-year-old Itzhak Meiri was shot dead in broad daylight on the Wieringerstraat in Amstelveen, shortly after returning from a dentist appointment. He was hit by several bullets and later died from his injuries. The case was seen as a contract killing within the criminal underworld: Meiri had a criminal past and had reportedly been on a death list for some time. What made this case especially striking was that both the person who ordered the killing and the shooter were minors at the time of the murder. The shooter was 16 years old and fired seven bullets, three of which hit the victim. A 20-year-old driver used a rented Volkswagen Golf as the getaway car and was arrested the day after the murder while still driving that same car. A tracking device was found under Meiri’s BMW, showing that he had been followed. That tracker eventually led investigators to the underage shooter. On the shooter’s phone, police found messages from someone using names such as “L’intimidateur” and “Bulldog.” The conversations contained instructions about arranging and collecting a tracker and a firearm, placing the tracker under Meiri’s car, following the victim and eventually shooting him. According to the court, those instructions came from J.F., who was 17 and a half years old at the time of the murder-for-hire. He was later arrested in Belgium and was carrying an automatic firearm at the time of his arrest. Investigators also found that he had access to large sums of money. The court found that J.F. had incited and co-perpetrated the murder, describing it as a carefully prepared and executed killing. Although he was a minor when the crime was committed, the court decided to try him under adult criminal law. Experts found no mental disorder, and the court described him as controlled, self-determined, calculating and someone who naturally took a leadership role. This kind of adult sentencing for a minor is uncommon in the Netherlands. The Public Prosecution Service had demanded 20 years in prison, but the court ultimately sentenced J.F. to 18 years in prison. The other perpetrators had already been convicted: the getaway driver received 18 years in prison on appeal, while the underage shooter received two years of juvenile detention and juvenile TBS because of his age. The case caused serious concern about young people being recruited by the criminal underworld to carry out violent jobs and contract killings.