Rapper Appa given 40 hours' community service, half suspended, for doxing

A police court judge in Utrecht has found rapper Appa, 43, guilty of intimidating a Jewish woman and a journalist by doxing them, meaning publicly sharing their personal information. He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, half of it suspended, with a two-year probation period.

Doxing has been a criminal offence in the Netherlands since 1 January 2024.

The Openbaar Ministerie, the Public Prosecution Service, had demanded 60 hours of community service. The judge imposed a lighter sentence because Appa had not previously been tried for such an offence. He was acquitted in a third case.

The judge called the offences serious and said both victims suffered a great deal. Appa's social media posts violated their privacy and made them feel unsafe, the judge ruled. Such posts can lead followers or others to break the law, which the judge held against him, according to the verdict.

The judge rejected Appa's defences in both cases. He had argued that he only wanted to gather information on the woman for a possible court case, and that he wanted to correct what he saw as inaccurate reporting by the journalist. The judge concluded that he must have realised his actions would cause fear and nuisance. In the journalist's case, the judge said doxing seriously hinders the practice of the profession.

Wilma Haan, deputy editor-in-chief of the journalist's newsroom, said she was very pleased with the ruling and glad the judge took the chilling effect on journalism into account. "It must never become normal for journalists to be personally intimidated because of their work," she said.

Appa has two weeks to decide whether to appeal.