Sept 3, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE:
Two prominent Pakistani clerics, Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, chief of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Jalali, leader of the breakaway faction Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah, faced trial in absentia on Monday, September 2, at a court in the Netherlands. They were charged with allegedly attempting to incite the murder of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
Dutch prosecutors have charged the 56-year-old Jalali with publicly calling on his followers to kill Wilders, promising them rewards in the afterlife. Rizvi is also accused of urging his supporters to murder Wilders.
“This case has had a huge impact on me and my family,” Wilders stated in court. “… a fatwa in this country is unacceptable.” Wilders, who has been under 24-hour state protection since 2004 due to numerous death threats, added, “Fatwas are the worst of all. They never go away. I still receive death threats on a daily basis.”
The trial was held at a highly secure courthouse near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. Despite requests for legal assistance from Dutch authorities, Pakistan did not cooperate. The absence of an extradition treaty between the Netherlands and Pakistan means it is unlikely the clerics will serve any sentence imposed by the Dutch court. The accused did not have legal representation at the trial.
In a letter to parliament, Reuters reported, the Dutch government said Pakistan had never responded to repeated calls for the extradition of the suspects. It said it would continue to press Islamabad on the matter.
The charges against the clerics are tied to the uproar over Wilders’ 2018 plan to hold a contest for blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). The competition, which was eventually cancelled after mass protests in Pakistan, led to a surge in death threats against Wilders.
“The planned competition caused a lot of unrest within the Muslim community. Wilders received hundreds, if not thousands, of death threats,” said the presiding judge, who asked to remain anonymous. The judge added that in the Netherlands, the contest was widely criticized as unnecessarily provocative.
The public prosecutor called for Jalali to be sentenced to 14 years in prison, arguing that his influence in Pakistan was significant and that his aim was to have Wilders killed. The hearing against Rizvi was scheduled to continue later in the day, with a verdict expected on September 9.
“The aim of the suspect [Jalali] was to kill Wilders. Unfortunately, we see politicians being more and more threatened because of what they say and think,” the prosecutor, who also requested anonymity, stated during the trial.
The TLP, led by Rizvi, is known for its massive street protests over blasphemy allegations, which often bring Pakistani cities to a standstill. Dutch authorities have stated that they will continue to press Pakistan for cooperation, despite the lack of response to their previous requests for extradition.