Badr Hari back to jail

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/2/7/14532716/dutch-supreme-court-orders-kickboxing-star-badr-hari-back-to-jail-glory-news


Top heavyweight kickboxer Badr Hari was told on Tuesday by the Supreme Court in the Netherlands that his appeal against a 2015 sentence has been denied and that he must return to the Netherlands to serve another six months in custody. Hari had previously served eight months of the original two-year sentence and had appealed to have it commuted to time-served.

Hari's conviction stemmed from incidents in 2011 and 2012, the most serious of which was an aggravated assault on entrepreneur Koen Everink at a dance music event in Amsterdam. Everink, a multi-millionaire, was assaulted in a VIP box at the event and was left with shattered bones in his ankle after having it stamped on repeatedly.

In 2014 an Amsterdam court found Hari guilty of the assault on Everink and sentenced him to eighteen months in prison, of which six months were to be suspended. He appealed, but the move backfired. The appeals court deemed his original sentence too lenient and increased it to two years custody and ten months of probation, along with an order to pay 45,000 EUR (48,000 USD) in damages.

Hari then appealed that sentence to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the Netherlands. The hearing took place today and went against Hari. He had sought for the custodial sentence to be commuted to time he had already served on remand prior to his initial conviction, but that application was denied.


The 32-year-old was born and raised in Amsterdam but these days largely resides in Morocco. There is no extradition treaty in place between Morocco and the Netherlands but it is not expected that Hari will refuse to return to the Netherlands to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

In December, Hari faced Rico Verhoeven in the GLORY: Collision main event, a fight which GLORY declared to be the biggest in kickboxing history. The competitive fight ended with a TKO in the second round when Hari sustained damage to his right forearm, which prevented his continuing.

The fight brought the two biggest talents in kickboxing's heavyweight division together and was sold out months in advance. Sources also said that the pay-per-view broadcast, staged with assistance from the UFC, was a success.


Appetite is high for a rematch and Hari had previously told Bloody Elbow that he could be ready for this summer. Today's news makes that unlikely and pushes a prospective rematch back towards the end of 2017, perhaps making for another year-end encounter.

Oh no, not again. Come on Badr.