14 alleged Islamic terrorists go on trial in the Netherlands
The trial was to open today of 14 men accused of belonging to an alleged network of young Muslim men plotting acts of terrorism, including the murder of Dutch politicians. The defendants, mostly Dutch-born children of North African immigrants, include Mohammed Bouyeri, already sentenced to life in prison for the November 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. After several acquittals in other high-profile cases, the trial of the so-called Hofstad network will be a test for new Dutch laws that advocates say lower the bar for conviction of extremists. Lawyers for the men say they are religious youth innocent of any wrong-doing. The defendants were arrested in sweeps following Van Gogh’s murder, which led to a spate of retaliatory mosque burnings in the Netherlands, a country once known for its peacefulness and tolerance.
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