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| Europe |
| Van Gogh killers' informant denies charges |
| 2005-12-13 |
| A witness denied at the trial of terrorist suspects in Amsterdam on Monday that he was an informer for the security service AIVD. Saleh B., 28, also rejected the suggestion he gave one of the accused men, Jason W., four hand grenades, one of which were used against police at W.'s home on the Antheunisstraat in The Hague on 10 November. Several members of a police raiding party were injured. After a day-long siege, Jason W. and a second accused man, Ismail A., surrendered. Mohammed B., 27 - the man convicted of killing filmmaker Theo van Gogh - and 13 other Muslims with Moroccan backgrounds are on trial in Amsterdam charged with membership of the Hofstadgroep, which the authorities claim was a terrorist network. W. alleged that Saleh B. had given him a plastic bag, containing the grenades, to mind. B. did not deny he had been in the home on the Antheunisstraat, but he denied providing the explosives. While W. accused the state's witness of lying, DNA evidence presented to the court indicated no traces from B. were found on the three remaining grenades. B. said he used to have a stall at a street market in The Hague and he got to know W. because the accused was interested in the business. Turning to suggestions in the media that he was an informant or agent provocateur, B. denied he was working for the AIVD when he became acquainted with W. He did, however, concede the AIVD had approached him in the past but the contact soon ended. B. was sparing with his answers on Monday and repeatedly made use of his right not to testify about certain matters. He was arrested on 28 October on suspicion of being part of a terrorist organisation after media reports questioned whether he had been shielded by the security service. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |