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Van Gogh killer sentenced to life term in jail

AMSTERDAM: A Dutch court on Tuesday sentenced the confessed killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh to life imprisonment, the harshest sentence possible for a murder that stunned the country, heightened ethnic tensions and raised concerns about home-grown 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 sentence was the only fitting punishment for a crime which sought to undermine Dutch democracy and the political system. Bouyeri told the court he had intended to die in the action and become a martyr for his faith. Judge 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 likelihood he would never change his radical views. Bouyeri has two weeks if he wants to lodge an appeal, but that appeared unlikely. He was convicted of the murder, described in the judgment as a terrorist attack, the attempted murder of bystanders and police officers, illegal possession of firearms and impeding the work of a Member of Parliament, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whom he had threatened to kill in a letter impaled in Van Gogh's chest.

— AP

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Van Gogh killer sentenced to life term in jail

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