"Wouldn't wish it on anyone," Wilders says about PM Rutte's extra security

PVV leader Geert Wilders responded to reports of Prime Minister Mark Rutte getting extra security because he may be the target of an abduction or attack from the organized crime world, by wishing him luck on Twitter.

"Terrible. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Good luck Prime Minister Rutte," the PVV leader tweeted. Wilders has been living with high security for years because he faces constant threats, mainly due to his very vocal opposition to Islam.

Newspaper De Telegraaf reported that the Prime Minister was given extra security because people from the organized crime world was targeting him. "Spotters" linked to the "Mocro-mafia" were observed near Rutte "at various times", De Telegraaf journalist Mick van Wely said on TV program Goedenmorgen Nederland on Monday morning. "We know it's taken very seriously and there are really big concerns about this."

In the criminal world, "spotters" refer to people who hang around potential crime scenes or victims to scout out how to best tackle an attack or abduction, so that a plan can be drawn up.

After the murder of criminal defense attorney Derk Wiersum in 2019, extra security was given to dozens of people in the criminal justice chain. Sources told NOS that between 20 and 30 people were given extra security, including judges and prosecutors involved in the Marengo trial against Ridouan Taghi . Wiersum was representing Nabil B., the key witness in the Taghi case, when he got murdered. Taghi and the alleged gang around him are suspected of multiple assassinations.

After crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who acted as Nabil B.'s confidant, was also murdered earlier this year, the Dutch cabinet promised to push extra money into fighting organized crime. This extra money was reflected in the national budget for 2022, which was presented last week.

According to De Telegraaf, an "elite security guard" was prominently visible during the Budget Debate last week. "For Wilders, everyone thought. But he also turned out to be keeping an eye out for Rutte," the newspaper wrote.

In both the murders of Wiersum and De Vries, suspicious people were seen following them in the period before they were gunned down.