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(1/4)Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders attends the Schiphol Court complex, on the day the case against a 37-year-old Pakistani man for incitement to the murder of Geert Wilders will begin, Badhoevedorp, Netherlands August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka they go woow Purchase license rights
AMSTERDAM, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Prosecutors told judges on Wednesday they were seeking a 12-year sentence for a Pakistani man who was being tried in absentia for urging people to assassinate Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders in 2018. .
The 37-year-old suspect, identified in court as former Pakistani cricketer Khalid Latif, is charged with incitement to murder, incitement to criminal acts and threats of violence against Wilders. Latif, who lives in Pakistan, did not attend the hearing.
Prosecutors said Latif posted a video in 2018 offering a reward of 3 million rupees (about 21,000 euros at the time) for Wilders’ murder. That video came after Wilders said he planned to hold a cartoon contest of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The competition was later cancelled.
Images of the Prophet Muhammad are prohibited in Islam as they are considered a form of idolatry. Most Muslims find the cartoons highly offensive.
Reuters could not immediately reach Latif, who received a five-year ban from cricket in 2017 over a point-fixing scandal, for comment.
Wilders, 59, is one of Europe’s most prominent far-right leaders and has been a key figure in shaping the immigration debate in the Netherlands for the past decade, although he has never been in government.
His Freedom Party (PVV) is the third largest in the Dutch parliament and is the main opposition party. Wilders has lived under constant police protection since 2004.
The Netherlands and Pakistan have no existing treaties on judicial cooperation or extradition and previous requests for cooperation in this case went unanswered, the prosecution said.
Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg Editing by Bernadette Baum
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