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Court allows Hirsi Ali to go ahead with security case

Tuesday 29 July 2008

A court in The Hague has granted a request by former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali for witnesses to be heard in support of her claim that the Dutch state is responsible for paying for her security in the US.

The Netherlands stopped paying for Hirsi Ali’s bodyguards last year when she moved to the US permanently. Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, now works for a conservative US think-tank.

In her application in May, Hirsi Ali asked for eight witnesses to be heard but on Monday the court said the number would initially be restricted to five.

Hirsi Ali can select which five herself, the court said. If she finds it necessary for more witnesses to be heard then she must make a further application stating her motivation, the court said.

The preliminary hearing, which could result in a full court case in which Hirsi Ali challenges the Dutch state to continue to pay for her security in the US, is expected to be held in on two consecutive days in the autumn.

According to earlier media reports, former deputy prime minister Gerrit Zalm, the head of the anti-terrorism organisation, Tjibbe Joustra, and justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin are among those on the witness list.

© DutchNews.nl


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Readers' comments

No more money from the Dutch to Hirsi Ali. She left The Netherlands and she has to take all consequenses herself.
Finito....

By Nick | July 29, 2008 4:28 PM


I support former MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali's claim that the Dutch state is financially responsible for her security elsewhere. By denying this responsibility The Netherlands present a penny pinching attitude towards Dutch passport holders who dare to raise issues that need to be raised. I felt embarrassed when security became a money issue, unfortunately not for the first time.

By T. Wolfert | July 29, 2008 4:46 PM


Of course, all this will be at the tax payers expense to protect Hirsi Ali. If she is living in the United States, why doesn't the United States provide her with protection?

By sandra | July 30, 2008 5:34 AM


How about me? The media keep telling me the terrorists are after me, when do I get my bodyguards?

By Iain | July 31, 2008 11:54 AM


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