Posted on 05/08/2002 11:31:52 AM PDT by Kermit
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A 32-year-old animal rights activist was remanded in custody by an Amsterdam court on suspicion of murdering Dutch far-right leader Pim Fortuyn, a court spokeswoman told AFP.
"The judge felt there were sufficient grounds to keep the suspect in custody," said spokeswoman Mercedes Grootscholten.
The man has not been formally charged as the murder investigation is still ongoing, she added. The court refused to confirm the identify of the suspect, who has been widely named as Volkert van der Graaf.
A spokesman for the prosecutor said earlier that the prosecution intends to charge the suspect with murder.
According to press reports, Van der Graaf is a vegan animal rights activist who fights against fur and factory farming. He may have taken issue with Fortuyn's plans to lift an incoming ban on fur farming in the Netherlands.
The daily De Volkskrant reported Wednesday that van der Graaf and his environmental organisation Milieu Offensief (Environmental Offensive) had been linked to the murder of a municipal environmental official in Nunspeet in the central Netherlands.
Flowers and cards meanwhile continued to pile up in front of Fortuyn's elegant villa in central Rotterdam and in the parking lot in the town of Hilversum where he was gunned down on Monday.
Thousands of people from all over the Netherlands have come to lay flowers or sign books of condolences.
The killer walked up to Fortuyn in the parking lot outside a radio station in broad daylight and shot the politician five times in the neck, head and chest.
The murder, which occurred just nine days before legislative elections in which Fortuyn's party was expected to make a significant showing, shocked the Netherlands.
The 54-year-old former sociology professor became a new star on the Dutch political scene when in March he propelled his far-right group from nowhere to win more than a third of the seats on Rotterdam's city council.
In next week's poll, his anti-immigrant platform had been expected to win 20 of the 150 seats up for election, an unprecedented showing for an extremist right-wing platform in this traditionally open-minded country.
But despite Fortuyn's strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, most Dutch were appalled at his killing, a bombshell in a country proud of its long legacy of tolerance.
In the confusion and shock after the killing, the Dutch government had considered postponing the election but Prime Minister Wim Kok decided Tuesday that the May 15 poll would go ahead as scheduled.
The political parties competing in the elections all halted their campaigns after the murder and all debates have been cancelled.
Fortuyn's body is to lie in state in the Rotterdam's cathedral on Thursday ahead of the funeral set for Friday, which Kok and the leaders of most leading political parties are expected to attend.
Fortuyn will be laid to rest in the small town of Driehuis on the northwestern Dutch coast. He is to be buried in a family grave in a private ceremony, a spokeswoman for his party told AFP.
The body will probably be moved later for re-burial in the far-right leader's vacation home in Pordemone in the north of Italy, she added.
Well, this may not be the eco-terrorists first murder.
Van onze verslaggeefster
De politie Noord- en Oost-Gelderland gaat onderzoeken of de aanslag op Pim Fortuyn verband houdt met een moord in 1996 op een milieuambtenaar uit Nunspeet. Dit misdrijf is nooit opgelost. De ambtenaar werd vlak voor Kerstmis in een bos van dichtbij neergeschoten.
Dinsdag werd bekend dat de 32 jarige Volkert van der G., werkzaam bij Vereniging Milieu-Offensief (VMO) in Wageningen, wordt verdacht van de moord op Fortuyn. Vijf jaar geleden werd VMO al in verband gebracht met de moord op Chris van de Werken, een 43 jarige ambtenaar die milieuvergunningen moest beoordelen. Deze connectie is nooit bewezen. De politie wil niet zeggen of medewerkers van de VMO toen als verdachten waren aangemerkt.
Nadat de naam van Van der G. dinsdag bekend werd, kreeg de politie opnieuw meldingen binnen over de mogelijke betrokkenheid van VMO bij het misdrijf in 1996. De politie acht deze meldingen opmerkelijk genoeg om de zaak, die officieel nooit is gesloten, weer van de plank te halen.
'De moord op Fortuyn heeft de gevoelens van destijds weer naar boven gebracht', zegt een woordvoerder van het politiekorps. Maar het is volgens hem nog te vroeg om conclusies te trekken. 'Uiteraard is de aandacht nu op Fortuyn gericht. Ons rechercheteam zal in een later stadium contact leggen met de collega's in Hilversum.'
De LPF-lijsttrekker is geraakt door vijf kogels: twee in de rug, een in de hals en twee in het voorhoofd. Dat heeft sectie uitgewezen, zei korpschef M. Berndsen van de politieregio Gooi- en Vechtstreek.
De verdachte kon worden aangehouden omdat vier mannen de vermoedelijke dader waren gevolgd. Hij bleek een vuurwapen bij zich te hebben.
Bij huiszoeking in zijn woning in Harderwijk is munitie aangetroffen die van hetzelfde kaliber is als de hulzen op de moordplek, zei hoofdofficier van justitie G. Hofstee. De verdachte, die geen strafblad heeft, wenst geen verklaring af te leggen. Hij heeft wel zijn naam genoemd.
Justitie wil nog niet bevestigen dat het gaat om Volkert van der G., maar wel dat de verdachte in Harderwijk woont en in het bezit was van milieuactivistisch materiaal.
Volgens Hofstee is een 'huisgenoot' gehoord als getuige. Vermoedelijk gaat het om de vrouw van Van der G. Samen kregen zij kortgeleden een kind.
De Amsterdamse advocate B. Böhler, die onder anderen de Koerdische leider Öcalan verdedigde, wordt genoemd als de raadsvrouw van Van der G. Zij wilde gisteravond geen commentaar leveren.
Makes my hair stand on end, such an electrifying character....but don't ever point at him....
The smear campaign continues on.
Possible connection to murder in 1996
de Volkskrant, front page, 8 May 2002
Van onze verslaggeefster
The Noord- en Oost-Gelderland police are investigating whethe the attack on Pim Fortuyn is connected with a murder of an environmental official in 1996. Nunspeet. This murder is unsolved. The official was shot shortly before Christmas.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that the 32 year old Volkert van der Graaft worked for Vereniging Milieu-Offensief (VMO/Environmental Offensive Organization) in Wageningen and is suspected in the murder of Fortuyn. Five years ago, VMO was brought in connection to the murder of Chris van de Werken, a 43 year old official of the environmental organization. This connection is not proven. The police will not say what evidence brought the VMO in suspicion.
After the name of Van de G. was released, the police receive reports about the possible connection of the VMO to the murder in 1996. The police took notice of this report, which is officially unsolved.
'The murder of Fortuyn heeft de gevoelens van destijds weer naar boven gebracht', said the speaker for the police corps. Maar het is volgens hem nog te vroeg om conclusies te trekken. 'Uiteraard is de aandacht nu op Fortuyn gericht. Our research team will make contact in a later phase with their colleagues in Hilversum. '
The LPF-listleader was hit by five bullets: two in the rug, one in the neck and two in the voorhoofd. Dat heeft sectie uitgewezen, zei korpschef M. Berndsen van de politieregio Gooi- en Vechtstreek.
The suspect could be captured in that the suspect was followed by four men. He had a firearm in his possession.
In a search of his residence in Harderwijk, ammunition was found of the same caliber as the shells found at the murder scene, said the high officer of the Justice Department G. Hofstee. The suspect had no previous record, was making no statements. His given his name.
Justice won't confirm that the suspect is Volkert van der G., only that the suspect lives in Harderwijk and had environment activist material in his possession.
Volgens Hofstee is een 'huisgenoot' gehoord als getuige. It probably refers to the wife of Van der G. They recently had a child.
The Amsterdam lawyer B. Böhler, who among others defended Kurdist (terrorist) leader, was named as the lawyer for Van der G. Yesterday evening, he wouldn't make any comment.
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