HOLLAND – A man briefly appeared in a Dutch court Thursday on suspicion ofwanting to assassinate far-right politician Geert Wilders after he said heplanned to stage a Prophet Mohammed cartoon competition.
The 26-year-old man “is being suspected of committing a terrorist act,planning to commit murder and incitement,” Dutch prosecutors said in astatement.
Police on Tuesday arrested the man at one of The Hague’s main railwaystations after he posted a film on Youtube saying he planned an attack onWilders or the Dutch parliament.
The man, believed to be from Pakistan, also called on other Muslims forsupport.
“Authorities are taking the threat very seriously,” the Dutch publicprosecution service said in the statement.
“The investigation is ongoing” and the man is in custody “with maximumrestrictions” meaning that he is only allowed to consult his lawyer.
Prosecutors did not release the suspect’s name, saying at this stage theywere reluctant to release further information.
He will remain in custody for another two weeks before a next appearance.
Plans by Wilders, an avowed anti-Islamist, to hold a cartoon competition athis PVV party’s offices in parliament have stirred anger among Muslims,particularly in Pakistan.
The Netherlands on Wednesday updated its travel advice to Pakistan urgingits citizens “to avoid demonstrations in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi”.
“Stay alert and keep a low profile,” the travel advice added.
A planned trade mission organised by the Dutch government and privatecompanies in early November has also been postponed “until a later date”,the government-run Netherlands Enterprise Agency said in a separatestatement.
Wilders in June announced plans to stage a cartoon competition inparliament later this year to draw the Prophet Mohammed. He claims he hasreceived 200 entries so far.
The Dutch competition’s winner is set to receive a cash prize, Wilders saidadding that the competition is not to “provoke or insult”.
“We are organising the competition because the freedom of speech is themost important freedom we have,” he said.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte however has distanced his government fromthe cartoon competition, saying it was not a government initiative.
Rutte last week said he supported free speech in the Netherlands butbelieved the cartoon competition “not respectful” and aimed only to provoke.
“The aim is to provoke, rather than stimulate a debate about Islam,” Ruttesaid — but he added Wilders was free to air his opinions.