Dutch police confirmed Tuesday that a 41-year-old man was taken into custody around 9:00 a.m. on Van Leijenberghlaan in Amsterdam on suspicion of threats and insults. His lawyer, Cem Polat, told NU.nl that the man was Badr Hari, the former K-1 heavyweight kickboxing champion whose name has long been tied to both his accomplishments in the ring and a string of legal troubles outside it.
Details of the incident that led to Tuesday’s arrest remain limited, and the suspicion of threats and insults reported by authorities has not been established as fact in court. The arrest adds another chapter to a legal record that stretches back more than a decade and includes some of the most talked-about incidents in Dutch sports history.
Just last year, Hari accepted a plea deal with the Public Prosecution Service after assaulting his ex-wife, Daphne Romani, in September 2024 and again in February 2025. The agreement resulted in a sentence of community service, a fine and a restraining order barring contact with Romani. He also spent three days in pre-trial detention connected to the case. When he was released, Hari addressed the public directly.
He said he felt “deep regret” for what had happened.
That was far from his first brush with the law. In 2012, Hari was convicted of attack on businessman Koen Everink at the Sensation White event held at Amsterdam ArenA, an incident that left Everink with permanent injuries. An appeals court handed down a two-year sentence with ten months suspended, meaning Hari ultimately served fourteen months behind bars. The Dutch Supreme Court upheld that ruling in February 2017. Hari has also faced convictions tied to separate episodes at Amsterdam night clubs Jimmy Woo and Club Air.
Everink’s story took a turn of its own in 2016, when he was found with stab wounds at his home. The man later identified as the suspect in that case was tennis coach Mark de J., not Hari, who had no connection to Everink’s passing. Before his passing, Everink had spoken publicly about his frustration that part of Hari’s sentence for the ArenA attack had been suspended rather than served in full.
Inside the ring, Hari’s career has been quiet for some time. His last professional appearance came in 2023 under the GLORY banner, where he lost by technical knockout to Uku Jürjendal. He mentioned considering retirement afterward, though no formal announcement followed. In February of this year, Hari posted on Instagram that he was “not active” as a competitor anymore, leaving his athletic future officially unresolved even as his legal situation continues to develop.
