Mohammed B. makes statement
The suspect in the murder of Theo van Gogh, Mohammed B., will make a short statement today in court in Amsterdam. So far he has been silent.
B.'s lawyer Peter Plasman announced this yesterday after visiting his client at the Pieter Baan Center (PBC). This is the justice department's observation clinic where B. is now being held for a behavioral examination. B. informed Plasman of his decision the day before yesterday. The lawyer said nothing about the content of B.'s statement or his motivation for appearing. Immediately after his arrest on November 2, B. told police officers that he had wanted to die during the murder of Van Gogh. He stopped there, as he has remained silent ever since. At the previous hearing, in January, he chose not to attend. B. didn't talk much to his counsel either. He did give them a message for the judge at the time: he wants to be held fully responsible for his actions and not declared insane. Still, the judge sent B. to the PBC. The prosecutor had requested this because he wants any insanity of B. to be ruled out. B. refused any cooperation at the clinic. As in January, the case will not be heard in substance today. That trial is scheduled for July 11 and 12. In addition to the psychiatric examination, the investigation must also be completed. One question the prosecution wants answered at all costs is who helped B. in the preparations for the murder. B. is suspected of murder with a terrorist intent-a new, criminally aggravating circumstance-but he is also alleged to have prevented Member of Parliament Hirsi Ali from going to work. He had stuck an open letter to her on Van Gogh's body. B. could face life in prison. He may later be prosecuted as a member of the terrorist organization known as "Hofstad Group.
