KARACHI: Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi and the chief of its breakaway faction Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah, Dr Muhammad Ashraf Jalali, stood trial in absentia on Monday at a high-security court in the Netherlands over alleged attempts to incite the murder of far-right and anti-Islam Dutch leader Geert Wilders, according to a Dawn.com report.

Dutch prosecutors have charged 56-year-old Ashraf Jalali for calling on his followers to kill Wilders and promising they would be “rewarded in the afterlife”.

Saad is suspected of urging followers to kill Wilders after Pakistani cricketer Khalid Latif was sentenced for incitement to murder him.

“This case has had a huge impact on me and my family,” said Wilders, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and maroon tie. “I’m asking this court to send a strong signal … that calling a fatwa in this country is unacceptable,” he added.

Pakistan asked for legal assistance to question them, with demand for their appearance before court

The trial took place at a highly secure courthouse near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Dutch authorities asked Pakistan for legal assistance to question the suspects and demand they appear in court. However, no treaty exists with Pakistan for mutual legal assistance and the two men did not appear in the dock. Neither man had legal representation present.

‘Death threats’

In September last year, judges sentenced Latif to 12 years behind bars for incitement to murder Wilders after the firebrand lawmaker sought to arrange a competition in August 2018 for blasphemous sketches of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Wilders cancelled the caricature contest after protests broke out in Pakistan and he was inundated with death threats. He has been under 24-hour state protection since 2004.

The planned competition “caused a lot of unrest within the Muslim community. He (Wilders) received hundreds if not thousands of death threats”, said the judge, who asked not to be identified.

In the Netherlands, the plan to stage the contest was widely criticised as needlessly antagonising Muslims.

Wilders said in court he had planned the contest because “it’s unacceptable that you are not allowed freedom of speech … in countries where it is permitted by law.”

“For the past 20 years I have been robbed of my freedom because of what I think, say, write and do,” said Wilders, claiming “fatwas are the worst of all. They never go away. I still receive death threats on a daily basis.”

The public prosecutor called for Ashraf Jalali to receive 14 years in prison. The hearing against Saad was due to begin later today with a verdict expected on September 9.

“The aim of the suspect (Jalali) was to kill Wilders. He (Jalali) had great influence in Pakistan,” alleged the prosecutor, who asked to remain anonymous.

“Unfortunately we see politicians being more and more threatened because of what they say and think.”

The TLP is known for its massive street protests over blasphemy allegations that can paralyse cities for days. It brought tens of thousands of people to the streets after Paris-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished blasphemous caricatures depicting the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in 2020.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2024