Netherlands held trial of TLP chief to encourage murder of Geert Wilders

Netherlands court held a trial of TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi and another religious leader Muhammad Ashraf Jalali to encourage the murder of Geert Wilders. Geert is a parliamentarian member of the Netherlands and belongs to the Party for Freedom.

The court conducted a trial against Saad and Ashraf in their absence on September 2, 2024. The court trial happened in a tight security courtroom near Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

However, the accused Saad is the head of a large Pakistani religious political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Muhammad Ashraf is the founder of Tehreek e Sirat e Mustaqeem (TSM) and Chairman of Tehreek e Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY).

*Saad Rizvi (left), Geert (middle), and Ashraf Jalali (right)*

Dutch prosecutors accused them both with charges of inciting their followers to assassinate Geert Wilders. They requested legal assistance from Pakistan to present them in a Dutch court and question them regarding charges against them.

However, both accused did not appear in court as there was no mutual legal assistance deal with Pakistan. There was not a single lawyer present for either suspect.

Despite the absence of the TLP chief and another religious leader Ashraf Jalali, the Netherlands court held their trial. Prosecutors demanded a 14-year jail sentence for Ashraf Jalali and 6-year jail sentence for Saad Rizvi.

The court will reportedly announce this verdict on September 9, 2024. However, this legal action came up in the aftermath of Geert Wilder’s derogatory act against Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

*Geert Wilder’s blasphemy cartoon campaign against the Prophet instigated Muslims’ emotions*

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Dutch leader Geert tried to launch a cartoon competition for blasphemous drawings of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) in 2019. His call for competition sparked protests in Pakistan and a continuous series of death threats against Geert.

Following outrage among Pakistani Muslims and other Islamic countries, Geert called off this cartoon competition. However, Geert has a long history of involving in blasphemy campaigns against Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

Since 2004, he has been under continuous governmental protection. He defends himself saying his freedom has been robbed for the past 20 years because of what he thinks, says, writes, and does.