Prosecution pushes for convictions in Van Gogh trial

Prosecutors began presenting their case in the Netherlands today against the man accused of killing filmmaker Theo van Gogh, pushing for convictions on murder and terrorism charges.

Prosecutor Frits van Straelen was expected to demand a life sentence for Mohammed Bouyeri, the 27-year-old who was taken into custody minutes after Van Gogh’s murder on November 2.

The killing was seen by some as an act of terrorism because Van Gogh was a prominent critic of Muslim fundamentalism.

The killer left a five-page note pinned to the corpse with a knife, filled with religious ramblings and threatening further attacks.

The killing led to a wave of retaliatory attacks on mosques and churches in a country once renowned for its peace and tolerance.

In previous hearings Bouyeri has instructed his lawyer to say he wants to be held responsible for his actions and present no defence.

He declined to answer questions from judges yesterday, apparently because of a religious-based contempt for the court.

At one point he cited an Islamic prayer in response to questions from judges.

Evidence against Bouyeri is strong.

He was arrested in a shoot-out with police holding the gun prosecutors say was used in the murder.

Prosecutors say he is tied to the crime by eyewitnesses, blood spatters, ballistics and DNA analysis.

A verdict is expected on July 26.

On the first day of the trial yesterday the main witness was Rudolph Peters, a professor of Islamic Culture at the University of Amsterdam who said Bouyeri’s writings showed he became radical more than 18 months before the killing.

Bouyeri, allegedly a member of a terrorist cell known as the Hofstad Network, is said to have attended private prayer sessions with a Syrian spiritual leader, Redouan al-Issar, who disappeared shortly before the Van Gogh killing.

Twelve other suspected group members are awaiting trial on separate terrorism charges.

“My conclusion is that Mr. Bouyeri saw himself as an instrument of God,” when he allegedly carried out the killing, Peters said.

Van Gogh’s mother and sister briefly addressed the court, but the defendant avoided eye contact, only looking up briefly when they took the stand.

Bouyeri confirmed his identity for the three-judge bench, but his lawyer Peter Plasman has said his client did not recognise the authority of the court.

“My client wants no defence by him, nor on his behalf, and that’s a very thoroughly considered decision,” Plasman said yesterday. “This is probably the last thing I’ll be saying at this trial.”

Van Gogh, a distant relative of the artist Vincent van Gogh, was apparently targeted because he offended many Muslims with his 2004 short film Submission, which told fictional stories of Muslim women who were sexually and physically abused.