'Bonnie and Clyde' of the Netherlands
Enise Merve B. (21), who spent two weeks robbing the Netherlands with her partner Antonio van der P. (27) in February 2014, has been sentenced on appeal to 12 years in prison. This was decided by the court in Leeuwarden on Wednesday. The length of the sentence is equal to the prosecution's demand and to the sentence B. already received last year.
While her lawyer Peter Plasman was present in court Wednesday afternoon, Enise B. herself was not.
According to the Court, Enise had an active role in the crime and there was close cooperation and joint preparation. Thus, her role in the rampage is not inferior to that of her partner. "Defendant acted unconscionably, she totally failed to empathize with victims," the court said.
Bonnie and Clyde
B. and her partner blazed a trail of violence across the country and kept the Netherlands under siege for two weeks. The pair were finally apprehended after a massive manhunt in a hotel in Schwerte, Germany. Thanks to their rampage, the "gangster duo" was nicknamed Bonnie and Clyde.
B. was already sentenced to 12 years in prison last year, her boyfriend Antonio to 16 years. Enise went into appeal, her friend did not.
Confession
B. confessed to almost all the facts she was charged with. Only the attempted manslaughter of a woman in Meppel she challenged with the court, because her boyfriend allegedly stabbed this woman. The court sees all the acts the duo committed as "interchangeable" and considers B. also responsible for the stabbing.
In Meppel, the two broke into a random residence. During the burglary the occupant of the house came home, after which she was tied up and abused by the duo. B. allegedly hit the woman on her head with a pan, Van der P. stabbed the occupant three times at her groin when she refused to give her PIN number.
Disappointed
Attorney Peter Plasman said he was "disappointed" in the ruling. ''We had a different expectation on this appeal,'' he said. Plasman does not yet want to say whether he will appeal to the Supreme Court. "For that, I have to study this ruling first."
