Prosecutors seek 12 years for Pakistani man for threatening Dutch far-right leader

A Pakistani man who was being tried in absentia for inciting people to kill Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders in 2018 was told by prosecutors on Wednesday that they were seeking a 12-year sentence.

The 37-year-old suspect is accused of inciting murder, inciting criminal activity, and threatening violence against Wilders. He was recognised in court as former Pakistani cricketer Khalid Latif. Latif, a resident of Pakistan, was absent during the hearing.

According to the prosecution, Latif published a video in 2018 promising a reward of 3 million rupees (about 21,000 euros at the time) for the assassination of Wilders. After declaring his intention to conduct a cartoon competition featuring parodies of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, Wilders released the video. Later, the contest was abandoned.

In Islam, depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are prohibited as an act of idolatry. Most Muslims find caricatures to be extremely offensive.

Although he has never served in government, Wilders, 59, is one of Europe’s most well-known far-right figures and has played a significant role in influencing the immigration debate in the Netherlands during the past ten years.

The biggest opposition party in the Dutch parliament is His Freedom Party (PVV), which is the third-largest party overall. Since 2004, Wilders has always had police protection.

According to the prosecution, there are no agreements between the Netherlands and Pakistan on extradition or judicial cooperation, and past requests for assistance in this case were not granted.

(With agency inputs)