A court in The Hague has granted a request by former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali for witnesses to be heard in support of her claim that the Dutch state is responsible for paying for her security in the US. The Netherlands stopped paying for Hirsi AliÂ’s bodyguards last year when she moved to the US permanently. Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, now works for a conservative US think-tank.In her application in May, Hirsi Ali asked for eight witnesses to be heard but on Monday the court said the number would initially be restricted to five. Hirsi Ali can select which five herself, the court said. If she finds it necessary for more witnesses to be heard then she must make a further application stating her motivation, the court said.
The preliminary hearing, which could result in a full court case in which Hirsi Ali challenges the Dutch state to continue to pay for her security in the US, is expected to be held in on two consecutive days in the autumn.
According to earlier media reports, former deputy prime minister Gerrit Zalm, the head of the anti-terrorism organisation, Tjibbe Joustra, and justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin are among those on the witness list.