Dutch Supreme Court overturns acquittal of 7 men cleared on appeal of terror group membership
By APTuesday, February 2, 2010
Dutch Supreme Court orders terror group retrial
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch Supreme Court has overturned the acquittals of seven men who were cleared on appeal in 2008 of being members of a terrorist organization.
The reversal is a victory for prosecutors in their long-running legal battle with members of an alleged homegrown terror network known as the Hofstad Group.
Tuesday’s ruling says the Hague Appeals Court was wrong when it overturned the convictions in January 2008 and orders the Amsterdam Appeals Court to rehear the case.
No date has been set for new hearings.
The seven were associates of Mohammed Bouyeri, who is serving a life sentence for the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. The killing, in which van Gogh was shot and his throat was slit on an Amsterdam street, was found to be an act of terrorism.
