Politician’s assassin tied to slaughterhouse arsons in the late 1990s: report

Volkert van der G., the man who assassinated far-right politician Pim Fortuyn, was likely behind multiple arson attacks on slaughterhouses and poultry farms in the late 1990s. Berrie Hanselman, a former officer at the general intelligence service AIVD, believes Van der G. was the driving force behind animal rights group Rode Haan, he told De Gelderlander.

While working for the AIVD, Hanselman was responsible for monitoring the far left. He obtained his doctorate in this subject from Leiden University in January.

In the mid-to late-1990s, Rode Haan set fire to dozens of poultry transporter trucks in Barneveld and Putten and a slaughterhouse in Dedemsvaart. According to Hanselman, Roda Haan seemed “convinced of the need for violence.” The organization claimed the attacks in letters to the press, written in stickers.

The person behind the Rode Haan (Red Rooster in English) remained a mystery until Van der G. shot and killed Pim Fortuyn on 6 May 2002, Hanselman told the broadcaster. Among Van der G.’s confiscated belongings, Hansemlan found stickers that matched the stickers from the Rode Haan letters. “I am convinced that Volkert was the Rode Haan,” Hanselman said.

A publication from the knowledge institute WODC supports this theory. “In the house of Volkert van der G., stickers were found that had previously been used to claim arson at cattle transporters,” the report stated, adding that the “murderer” had apparently “been active for some time.”

Public prosecutor Koos Plooij told the broadcaster that he cannot remember whether he knew about the stickers and the arson attacks when prosecuting Van der G. for Fortuyn’s assassination. “We demanded a life sentence in this case, so that would not have made any difference to the sentence demand.”

Van der G. was sentenced to 18 years in prison for Fortuyn’s murder. The arson attacks may have reached the statute of limitations.