The man suspected of assassinating Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam earlier this week was a member of a squad of suicide killers, a newspaper has claimed. Newspaper De Telegraaf — which had promised it would publish a shocking exclusive on Friday about the Van Gogh killing — said Van Gogh and five prominent Dutch politicians are named in a hit list drawn up by Muslim terrorists. Citing sources close to the murder investigation, the newspaper said Mohammed B., 26, was part of a group of young Moroccan men specially trained by terrorists to carry out suicide attacks in the Netherlands. Amsterdam police chief Bernard Welten responded to the newspaper's claims on Friday by saying there was "absolutely no question" of a death list.
| Was that "Absolutely, no question!" or "Absolutely no!" |
Welten also indicated he disagreed with the decision by Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner to reveal the full contents of the letter the killer plunged into Van Gogh's body with a knife. Mohammed B. is to appear in court on Friday and eight other men have been detained as part of the ongoing investigation. De Telegraaf said detectives have come across a "death list". Top of the list was Van Gogh who made the movie Submission which criticised the treatment of women in Islamic communities. The other five names on the list are Somali-born Liberal VVD MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, independent conservative MP Geert Wilders; Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk; and Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen and his deputy Ahmed Aboutaleb. There are unconfirmed media reports that Hirsi Ali and Wilders have been moved to safe houses for their protection. Ali — who wrote the script for Submission — has gone into hiding several times in the past following death threats, the most recent being levelled against her and Van Gogh when the short film was screened in August. | What's the over/under on how many more have to die before the Dutch take action? |
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