MAASTRICHT - Justice on Tuesday demanded four months in prison and two years of driving disqualification against a Maastricht man who in April 2013 - under the influence of alcohol and with a broken leg - drove 30-year-old police officer Christian Geilen to his death.
The accused Maastricht man, who was himself injured in the accident on the Hoge Weerd, stated to the court that he did not consider himself guilty of driving Geilen to death, whose sister read a very emotional victim statement during the hearing. The Beek-born officer was not at work when he was hit.
Geilen - in his spare time a well-known amateur soccer player in the south of our country - was initially taken to Maastricht hospital with very serious injuries, where he died not much later. At the time, his death hit his soccer club Caesar like a bomb. The Limburg police force also reacted with shock.
Françoise Landerloo, lawyer for the Maastricht man, asked the court not to impose an unconditional prison sentence on her client. ''I think this has no added value, given the psychological impact and the time lapse of this case. Moreover, he has lost his driver's license for almost two years and cannot try to get a new one until 2018."
Verdict in two weeks.