Six no longer suspects in Van Gogh murder

Six men arrested following the killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh are no longer suspects in the murder, but still face charges of belonging to a terrorist group, authorities said today.

The prime suspect in the November 2 killing, 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, remains in custody, officials said. But national prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said Amsterdam prosecutors have found no evidence linking six others to Van Gogh’s killing.

However, the men still face charges of belonging to a group of fundamentalists identified by Dutch intelligence as the “Hofstad” network, which is alleged to have links to the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and the 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 33.

Van Gogh, whose film “Submission” sharply criticised Islam’s treatment of women, was killed while cycling in Amsterdam. His killer also left a note threatening Dutch politicians and others in the name of radical Islam.

Bouyeri was arrested minutes later following a shootout with police. The other suspects, some of whom had shared Bouyeri’s apartment and attended meetings there with an alleged fundamentalist spiritual leader, were arrested in a sweep the same day.

Their names have not been released. Their spiritual leader, identified as Syrian Redouan al-Issar, remains at large.

The Justice Ministry today announced a new law banning foreign groups considered terrorist, including militant Hamas and the radical Islamic al-Takfir movement, with which Bouyeri is believed to be associated.

Also to be banned are the armed wing of the Philippine Communist Party the Kurdish Workers’ Party, now known as KONGRA-GEL the Islamic al-Aqsa group and the New Peoples Army of the Philippines, a statement said.

Under the law, judges in civil cases can prohibit a group if prosecutors say it poses a threat to public order.