Arrest over murder of filmmaker

TWO Chechen citizens have been arrested in France and the Netherlands in connection with the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, Amsterdam prosecutors said yesterday.

The suspect in France was arrested on May 18 in the western French city of Tours, and was identified under Dutch privacy rules only as Bislan I. The suspect in Holland, identified as Marad J, was arrested on April 19 in Amsterdam.

Both are believed to have ties with a group of Islamic fundamentalists dubbed the Hofstad network by prosecutors, Mr Meulenbroek said.

A 27-year-old Dutchman, Mohammed Bouyeri, is awaiting trial on a charge of murdering Van Gogh and belonging to the same Hofstad network.

Van Gogh was an outspoken critic of the treatment of women in some Muslim households, and his killer left a note threatening more attacks in the name of radical Islam.