Dutch MP threatened in letter on body of film-maker

A letter left on the body of a Dutch film-maker murdered in Amsterdam contained death threats against a politician, apparently written by an unknown organisation.

Dutch authorities have arrested nine suspects, all believed to be radical Muslims, in connection with Tuesday’s shooting and stabbing of Theo van Gogh.

Authorities said they were investigating possible links between the suspects and foreign terrorist groups, including those responsible for the Casablanca bombings last May.

Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner said yesterday that a letter pinned by the killer to Van Gogh’s body with a knife was “a direct warning” to Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Ali 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.

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

Donner said the way the five-page letter was presented “indicates that it is not from one person, but a movement”. It was neatly typed and written in Dutch and Arabic.

The letter is headed “Open Letter to Hirsi Ali” and threatens Jihad, or Islamic holy war, against infidels, Americans, Europe, the Netherlands and Hirsi Ali. “Saifu Deen alMuwahhied,” 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,” Donner said. Security has been increased for individuals considered possible targets, including Hirsi Ali and members of her right-wing party.

“Islam will be victorious through the blood of martyrs,” said the letter, which contained apparent quotes from the Koran and verses of poetry. “Only the death will separate the truth from the lies.”

A separate testament found in the pocket of the main suspect was titled “Drenched in blood” and said “these are my last words”.

The 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 killing and is appearing before a judge today, when prosecutors will file charges.

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 at 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 help 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.

The five had been 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 had been insufficient evidence to prove any charges, and the five were released.

Four of them were among those arrested this week. The fifth was Samir Azzouz, an 18-year-old of Moroccan descent who was arrested in June and is awaiting trial for allegedly planning to attack a Dutch airport, nuclear reactor or parliament.

Van Gogh will be cremated on Tuesday in a public service.