Two Pakistani men in court for threatening PVV leader Wilders

Two Pakistani men will have to answer to the judge on Monday for threatening PVV leader Geert Wilders. The religious leader and the political leader allegedly called on their followers to murder Wilders. It is likely that both men will not be present in court and that there will be no lawyers representing them. Wilders will attend the trial.

The 56-year-old Mullah Muhammed Ashraf Jalali is suspected of attempting to incite the murder of the Dutch politician. In several calls, he allegedly said “that this act will be rewarded in the hereafter.” TLP leader Saad Hussain Rizvi (29) is suspected of incitement to murder. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), he shouted that he and his audience should take on this task. He did this after Khalid Latif, a former Pakistani cricketer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Netherlands for attempting to incite the murder of Wilders.

The two men who are now on trial made their threats verbally during gatherings and on social media with videos and text posts. The Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with Pakistan. The OM asked the Pakistani authorities to serve the summons on the suspects and requested that the suspects be questioned about the accusation, but heard nothing in return.

The court in The Hague is using the high-security court at Schiphol for this case. Wilders has informed ANP that he will attend the hearing and will use his right to speak.