Killers of filmmaker threatened scriptwriter

THE killers of an outspoken Dutch filmmaker threatened his scriptwriter — a politician who renounced Islam and criticised its customs — in a letter that was pinned to the victim’s body with a knife.

Authorities have arrested nine suspected Muslim extremists in connection with the shooting and stabbing of Theo van Gogh and are looking into possible links between the suspects and foreign terrorist groups.

Prosecutors yesterday said they considered the crime an act of terrorism and would try the chief suspect identified as Mohammed B as a terrorist.

Chief Amsterdam prosecutor Leo de Wit said the suspect will face five counts, including murder and "participating in a criminal organisation with terrorist characteristics".

Mohammed B was arraigned yesterday behind closed doors. Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner said that a letter pinned to Van Gogh's body was "a direct warning" to Dutch member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The Somali-born lawmaker wrote the script of a film Van Gogh made criticising the treatment of women under Islam, and Van Gogh received death threats after the film was released in August.

Hirsi Ali, who has renounced the Muslim faith of her birth, has frequently outraged Muslims by criticising Islamic customs and the failure of Muslim families to adopt Dutch ways.

Mr Donner said the five-page letter, which was neatly typed and written in Dutch and Arabic, appears to be "not from one person, but a movement".

Titled "Open Letter to Hirsi Ali", it threatens Jihad against "infidels" everywhere, particularly in America, Europe and the Netherlands.

"Saifu Deen al Muwahhied," apparently a signature, is written at the bottom of the last page.

"It is worrying because it gives the impression that it is not the message of an individual, but a wider organisation," said Mr Donner. Security has been increased for individuals considered possible targets, including Hirsi Ali and members of her right-wing party, he said.

"Islam will be victorious through the blood of martyrs," said the letter.

Mohammed B, 26, holds dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality. He was arrested after being wounded during a shootout with police shortly after the slaying.

It was not clear what charges the other eight suspects, all of North African descent, would face.

Mohammed B's lawyer, Jan Peter Plasman, protested against the release of the letter, saying it would prejudice the case against his client.

He declined to comment on whether his client was innocent.

A Moroccan diplomat has travelled to the Netherlands to assist in the investigation, and more than 75 detectives have been put on the case, Dutch officials said.

Authorities described Mohammed B as "an associate" of five men who were briefly detained last year, prosecutors said.

The five were suspected of providing support to terrorists in Spain and Morocco who were responsible for the bombing in Casablanca in May 2003, Donner told parliament at the time. But there was insufficient evidence and the five were released.