Trouble and Badr Hari are never far apart.
Only last month his name was all over the gossip column pages as Estelle Gullit, wife of footballing legend Ruud Gullit, was reported to have split from her husband because of his infidelity and taken up with Hari, 21 years his junior.
At the weekend Hari and Estelle were guests at the international house and trance music event Sensation, which drops in on the Amsterdam Arena annually. The pair had passes for the VIP lounge and were present when violence erupted.
Accounts as to what happened differ and police are still working through statements and evidence, but what is known is that 38-year-old travel industry businessman Koen Everink sustained a severe beating so bad that his ankle was broken completely through.
He also suffered facial fractures and was left covered in blood. But it is the ankle injury that is causing most concern - he is under police guard in hospital where doctors say he may well never walk normally again once the injury is healed.
Hari’s name was linked to the assault immediately and he does not deny being present at the time it occurred. However, he says he was merely a witness to the violence and that the perpetrators were unconnected to him. On Dutch message boards, rumours abound that the victim has named Hari as his attacker but this is unconfirmed.
According to Hari’s attorney, he volunteered to speak to the police but they have not taken up his offer because they do not yet know whether they want to talk to him as a witness or a suspect. They have asked that he surrender the clothes he was wearing at the time so they can be testing, and Hari is said to have voluntarily complied with this request.
Naturally, a lot of people are concluding that Hari is the culprit because he has a reputation for a hair-trigger temper and a past history of nightclub-related violence.
However, Dutch police are saying that alcohol and drugs were being widely used in the VIP area all night up until the violence took place. It cannot be ruled out that villains from Amsterdam’s thriving underworld were involved, or that the incident was a cocaine-fuelled frenzy.
Hari is denying all responsibility and connection and police are still investigating. More information coming soon.
