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| Europe |
| Letter left on Van Gogh's body threatened Dutch politician |
| 2004-11-04 |
| A letter left on the body of a Dutch filmmmaker murdered in Amsterdam contained death threats against a politician and was signed by a suspected terrorist group, the justice minister said Thursday, as police pressed an investigation into radical Islamic groups. Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner said Thursday the note contained a "direct warning" to the film's screenwriter, Ayaan Hirst Ali, a Somali-born lawmaker who has outraged fellow Muslims by criticizing Islamic customs and the failure of Muslim families to adopt Dutch ways. She had been under police protection before the slaying. Van Gogh received death threats after the film was released in August. Donner said the way the 5-page letter "was presented indicates that it is not from one person, but a a movement." The letter, which was addressed to Ali, said "I know definitely that you, Hirsi Ali, will go down." It was signed "Saifu Deen al Muwahhied." I believe that's supposed to be Saif al-Din al-Muwaheed - "Sword of Justice of the Faithful" IIRC. The chief suspect, who has been identified only as Mohammed B., 26, holds dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality. He was arrested after being wounded in the leg during a shootout with police shortly after the slaying and was to appear before a judge Friday, when prosecutors said they would file charges. It was not clear what charges the other eight suspects would face. Mohammed B.'s lawyer, Jan Peter Plasman, protested the release of the letter, saying it would prejudice the case against his client. He declined to comment on whether B. was innocent. The letter was typed in Dutch and Arabic, and threatened to bring down "nonbelievers." "I know definitely that America will crumble," it said. A Moroccan diplomat has traveled to the Netherlands to assist in the investigation, and more than 75 detectives have been put on the case, Dutch officials said. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, the Dutch secret service has repeatedly warned that the Netherlands could be a target. It is shadowing 150 extremists around the clock and has said that Muslim immigrant youths are being recruited. The Dutch public has widely perceived Van Gogh's killing as an attack on free speech. Politicians have called for an emergency debate on security officials' failure to prevent it. Despite widespread condemnation of the murder by mainstream Muslim groups, Muslims fear reprisals, and ethnic tension was evident in Dutch streets. "This is definitely going to happen more often," said Nicolette Toering, visiting the spot where Van Gogh was killed. She rejected Muslims' concerns of being targeted by violence and said unemployed immigrants should leave the country. Samir Alami, a Dutch-born man of Moroccan descent, said he felt uncomfortable in the Netherlands for the first time while riding the train to Amsterdam to visit the crime scene. "People were giving me angry stares, you could see it in their faces," he said. "I feel terrible." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Samir, just go back to your Moslem country then. Or help track and capture the Islamofascists. Easy choice. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-11-05 12:08:38 AM |