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Van Gogh's killer gets life
26/07/2005 12:12 - (SA)
Amsterdam - A Dutch court sentenced the confessed killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh to life imprisonment on Tuesday, the harshest sentence possible for a murder that stunned the country, heightened ethnic tensions and raised concerns about homegrown Islamic terrorism.
Mohammed Bouyeri, 27, had mounted no defence at his two-day trial earlier this month for the November 2 slaying of Van Gogh, whom he accused of insulting Islam, and told the court he would do it again if given the chance.
Presiding judge Udo Willem Bentinck said life was the only fitting punishment for a crime which sought to undermine Dutch democracy and the political system.
Bouyeri, wearing a black and white chequered headscarf, showed no emotion as he shook his lawyer's hand following the verdict. He had earlier told the court he had intended to die in the action and become a martyr for his faith.
Bentinck said the three-judge panel had concluded there was no possibility for Bouyeri to return to society, citing his lack of remorse and the unlikelihood he would ever change his radical views.
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