The Court of The Hague issued its ruling on Monday in the case of two Pakistani individuals who had called on the public to assassinate Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
The court delivered its ruling just a week after the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced plans to prosecute the two Pakistani nationals, a 56-year-old religious leader and a 29-year-old political figure. The religious leader is accused of having issued a fatwa, a religious opinion given by Islamic scholars, and, along with the political figure, repeatedly urged the public to assassinate the far-right politician. The case stems from a 2018 incident that ensued after Wilders, leader of the Islamophobic Party for Freedom (PVV) sparked controversy by proposing a cartoon competition featuring depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
The religious leader was sentenced to 14 years in prison in accordance with Articles 46a, 47, 55, 131, 285 and 289 of the Dutch Criminal Code. This includes the attempt to incite murder, incitement to murder with terrorist intent, and threatening a Dutch MP with murder with terrorist intent. Evidence during the trial had shown that the religious figure had previously delivered a speech at an event titled the “Death to Holland Conference,” where he not only threatened Wilders but also targeted the Dutch government and political system. In his speech, he claimed that the Dutch government “must die” as retribution for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The second defendant, a 29-year-old leader of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik, an Islamist party in Pakistan, was sentenced to four years on the basis of Articles 55, 131 and 185 of the Criminal Code. Although terrorist intent was not proven, it was noted that he had delivered a speech protesting the conviction of a Pakistani cricket player who had advocated for the assassination of Geert Wilders.
The trial proceeded in absentia, with the defendants located in Pakistan at the time. It is unlikely that the convicted men will serve their sentences, since the Netherlands lacks an extradition treaty with Pakistan. Nonetheless, in a press conference after the trial Wilders remarked, “It is an important signal, also internationally, that pronouncing a fatwa about a parliamentarian does not go unpunished.”
Political violence against public figures and leaders has been notably prevalent in Europe in recent months. In May, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and critically injured. That same month, a member of the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was stabbed in Mannheim after confronting an individual who had torn down election posters. In the wake of the European Parliament elections in June, a member of the EuroParliament running for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) was attacked by four minors, requiring immediate medical care and surgery. In Denmark, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reported an attack by a man on the streets of Copenhagen.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), political violence and extremism are evident throughout the European Union, with both far-right and far-left groups active across all member states.
