A 29-year-old man has been given an 80 hour community service sentence for threatening tv presenter Clairy Polak in two emails.

Abdelhakim B told the court he was angry that Polak’s show Nova painted Moroccan nationals in a bad light and sent the emails threatening to kill her in the same way as film maker Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh was stabbed to death in November 2004.
In her statement, Polak told the court she was used to being threatened but that it was now time to take action.
The court imposed a longer sentence than the public prosecution department had asked for, saying it is important journalists can go about their work without fear.