VZCZCXRO5308
OO RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTC #0527 0691608
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101608Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5063
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAT/AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM PRIORITY 0498

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000527 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UBI, S/CT, INR 
JUSTICE FOR OIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER KCRM KPRP PINR PREL PGOV CASC NL
SUBJECT: HOFSTAD GROUP RULED A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION 
 
¶1. (U) The Hague court ruled March 10 that the Hofstad group 
was a terrorist organization, because it aimed to incite 
hatred, violence, and intimidation, according to press 
reports.  Nine of the 14 defendants were found guilty of 
membership in a criminal-terrorist organization.  One of 
those convicted is an Amcit.  However, the court also ruled 
that it had not been proven that the defendants had been 
actively planning to commit a violent act, or acts, and 
consequently acquitted them on charges of conspiracy to 
commit a terrorist act.  This is the first time that anyone 
has been convicted of membership in a terrorist organization, 
under the 2004 Terror Crimes Act, which made such membership 
a criminal offence. 
 
¶2.  (U) Jason Walters, Ismael Akhnikh and Nouredine el Fatmi 
were also convicted on weapons charges.  Walters and Akhnikh 
were convicted for throwing hand grenades at the Hague police 
in November 2004; Walters was sentenced to 15 years, and 
Akhnikh to 13.  The prosecution had requested 20 years for 
both.  el Fatmi was found guilty of having a loaded machine 
gun when arrested in November 2004; he was sentenced to 5 
years.  The court ruled that convicted Theo van Gogh murderer 
Mohamed Bouyeri was a member of the Hofstad group; however, 
as he is already serving a life sentence, Bouyeri could not 
be sentenced to additional time. 
 
¶3.  (U) Jermaine Walters, Jason's brother, was acquitted of 
conspiracy charges.  This was not unexpected, as the 
prosecutor had requested that he be acquitted, due to lack of 
evidence (under the Dutch legal system, once a trial has 
begun, the prosecution cannot drop charges against a 
defendant; the case must still go to the judges for a 
verdict).  The Walters brothers are dual national 
Dutch-American converts to Islam.  Three of the nine 
convicted were not sentenced to additional jail time; the 
sentences given were less than the time that they had already 
served in preventive detention. 
 
¶4.  The court also ruled that there was no evidence that the 
group had been planning anything concrete to impede the work 
of MPs Gert Wilders or Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whom some members of 
the group were accused of having threatened. 
ARNALL