Dutch court sentences former Pakistani cricketer to 12 years over a bounty for a far-right lawmaker

(11 Sep 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Schiphol, Netherlands - 11 September 2023 1. Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders arriving in the courtroom 2. Mid of judges 3. Close of Wilders 4. SOUNDBITE (Dutch) G.P. Verbeek, Presiding judge: “After all, it concerns one video message that results in three different criminal offenses. This means that only the penalty provision with the highest penalty is applied. In this case, attempted murder and a maximum prison sentence of twenty years could be imposed for this. In view of what has been considered above, the court is of the opinion that a lighter or different sanction than a long-term unconditional prison sentence will not suffice. The court considers a term of twelve years, as requested by the public prosecutor, appropriate and the court also imposes this sentence on the suspect.” 5. Close of Wilders 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Geert Wilders, Dutch lawmaker “Well, it's a fair and honest judgment. I'm very happy with it. Twelve years in prison for Khalid Latif. But, of course, he is not here and it's only real justice when he will be arrested, apprehended and extradited to the Netherlands. So I will ask as a parliamentarian, the Dutch prime minister today to make sure that the Pakistani authorities will this time really help and not ignore our request for the arrest and extradition for this Khalid Latif, who today, as you just saw, was sentenced by a court in Holland for 12 years in jail.” 7. Mid of Wilders posing for photographer 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Geert Wilders, Dutch lawmaker “I lost my whole personal freedom for almost 19 years now. My wife and I left for that reason and in prison cells, just to be safe, not as prisoners, but just to be safe in army barracks and safe houses as from today. So we lost our personal freedom, have around the clock police protection and we are not free. The only freedom I have is my freedom of speech and my freedom of thought. So this is the result of people like Khalid Latif, who actually, because they don't like what you are doing within the boundaries of the law, overstepped the boundaries of the law and asked people to kill you, you know.” 9. Pan from Wilder on phone screen to Wilder's face 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Geert Wilders, Dutch lawmaker “At the end of the day, I stopped the cartoon contest because too many people have got threatened by it even Dutch diplomats and others in Pakistan who had nothing to do with it. But the point is that whatever you think about it, you never may and can use violence. You know, if somebody criticizes Christianity and Judaism and not the same things happen that if you criticize Islam or Muhammad. And we should never accept that. “ 11. Wide of the courtroom 12. SOUNDBITE (Dutch) Natalia Lubbe, Press Officer of The Hague District Court: “This severe punishment sets an example for individuals who commit these criminal offenses of imposing threats to people, also committing these crimes, they also endanger the Dutch rule of law.” 13. Pan from Wilder to judges leaving STORYLINE: A Dutch court on Monday sentenced a former Pakistani cricketer to 12 years in prison over allegations that he incited people to kill firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. Khalid Latif, 37, stood accused of offering a bounty of some 21,000 euros ($23,000) to anybody who killed Wilders. Latif did not appear in the high-security courtroom near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for the trial and he was not represented by a lawyer. He’s believed to be in Pakistan, which has no extradition agreement with the Netherlands. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: