Hofstad group was a terrorist organisation, says appeal court

Friday 17 December 2010

The group of young men who became known as the Hofstad group had formed an organisation which aimed to carry out terrorist attacks, the Amsterdam appeal court ruled on Friday.

The seven defendants were sentenced to jail terms of between 15 months and 13 years. The longest sentence went to Muslim convert Jason Walters, who has an American father and Dutch mother.

He was earlier sentenced to 15 years for five counts of attempted murder after throwing a handgrenade at police during his arrest in 2004.

Young

Walters, who has since renounced Islam, was 19 at the time of his arrest. The appeal court said it had taken his youth into account in reducing his sentence.

The seven are part of a loose grouping of young Muslims which police named the Hofstad group. It is said to include Mohammed Bouyeri who murdered film maker Theo van Gogh in 2004.

Friday’s verdict is the latest in a long legal process against the group. They were first found guilty of membership of a terrorist organisation but then found not guilty on appeal.

However in February the high court ordered a retrial, saying the definitions for the 'existence and structure of a criminal or terrorist organisation' used by the first appeal court were 'too strict' .

The public prosecution department welcomed Friday’s verdict but are now preparing for the case to be referred back to the High Court, the Telegraaf reports.

© DutchNews.nl