Former K-1 heavyweight champion Badr Hari may be spending the next few years in a Dutch jail.
He was arrested today by police in Amsterdam after presenting himself at a police station to talk about an incident that took place earlier this month at an all-night rave event, which left a man with a potentially crippling injury.
Hari is accused of being one of several men who assaulted the travel industry entrepreneur Koen Everink and left him hospitalised with face and leg injuries. The worst injury, a broken ankle so bad he may have a permanently affected walking manner, was allegedly Hari’s work.
According to reports, the victim has told investigators that he was floored by his initial attackers and then looked up to see Hari standing over him. The Dutch-Moroccan is then alleged to have cried “Now go to hell!” before stamping heavily on his ankle and breaking it.
The day after the event, Hari and his girlfriend Estelle Gullit – estranged wife of the footballer Ruud Gullit – jetted off for a pre-booked “holiday in the sun”. Police said that he was not yet classed as either witness or suspect so there was no need to prevent him leaving the country.
When he came back this week he was apparently “afraid of being arrested by a SWAT team” and so he made arrangements to hand himself in. When he did so he was arrested at the front desk of the police station and for the time being he will now have contact with nobody except his lawyer, which means he cannot speak to radio reporters as he was doing this week.
Hari has also been accused by an Amsterdam nightclub owner of causing him severe injury in an assault last year. The owner of the Air venue says that he was left with a broken jaw and missing teeth after a kick from Hari but did not press charges at the time after extracting a promise from Hari that he would never return to the club.
News of the latest incident apparently prompted him to reconsider his position and he is now asking Dutch police to press charges. Its another blow for the beleaguered Hari, who has a well-deserved reputation for volatility and aggressive conduct.
A statement is expected tomorrow from Amsterdam police.
