Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Dutch prosecutor wants 12-year term for former Pakistan cricketer

Dutch public prosecutors said Khalid Latif, 37, who remains in Pakistan, had offered €21,000 (£18,284) in an online video from 2018 in which he called for Geert Wilders' killing

Dutch prosecutor wants 12-year term for former Pakistan cricketer

A FORMER Pakistani international cricketer went on trial last Tuesday (29) in the Netherlands for allegedly attempting to incite the murder of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, with prosecutors demanding a 12-year sentence if convicted.

Dutch public prosecutors said Khalid Latif, 37, who remains in Pakistan, had offered €21,000 (£18,284) in an online video from 2018 in which he called for Wilders’ killing.


The outspoken Dutch MP at the time cancelled a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed after angry demonstrations broke out, particularly in Pakistan, and the far-right politician was inundated with death threats.

“Latif tried to move others to murder Mr Wilders and to avenge the cartoon contest,” prosecutor FA Kuipers told the judges. “Not only was his goal to end a human life with violence, but with his appeal he tried to silence a Dutch representative,”

she said at a court hearing, held at a high security courthouse near Schiphol airport.

“Calling for a murder to prevent the cartoon competition and offering a sum of money to kill the organiser of that competition, should be very severely punished as far as the Public Prosecution is concerned,” Kuipers added, before asking for a 12-year sentence.

Neither Latif, nor any lawyer were present in the courtroom.

DP Latif Khalid GettyImages 661421216 Khalid Latif

The Pakistani embassy in The Hague had no comment directly after the hearing and Latif could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kuipers said prosecutors have tried since 2018 to speak to the cricketer and handed over a request to Islamabad for legal assistance, to no avail.

The Netherlands does not have a treaty regarding legal assistance with Pakistan, she said.

“The questions we have for Latif remain unanswered,” Kuipers said. Wilders, who was in court during the hearing, told the judges death threats on his life increased after his plans to stage the controversial cartoon competition. Known for his firebrand comments about Islam, Wilders has been under 24-hour state protection since 2004.

“Whatever you find of the cartoon competition, there is no reason to put a price of death on somebody’s head for it,” Wilders said. Addressing Latif personally, Wilders, known for his peroxide bouffant hairdo, said “your call to have me murdered will never silence me”.

But at the time, the plan to stage the contest received widespread criticism at home, with politicians, local media and ordinary citizens slamming the idea as needlessly antagonising Muslims. Latif’s call resonated in the real world, Kuipers said.

A Dutch court in 2019 sentenced a Pakistani man to 10 years in prison for plotting to assassinate Wilders in the wake of the cancelled contest.

The man, identified as Junaid I, was arrested in 2018 at a train station in The Hague after he posted a film on Facebook in which he said he wanted to “send Wilders to hell” and urged others to help.

The verdict is due to be handed down on September 11. Latif, 37, who played five oneday internationals and 13 T20Is for Pakistan, was banned from cricket for five years in 2017 for spot-fixing in a Pakistan Super League match in Dubai.

He showed early promise, but failed to make an impact at the international level.

More For You

hugh grant

His remarks have since drawn attention online

Getty

Hugh Grant slams 'creepy' Heathrow officer for asking his kids if he’s their dad

British actor Hugh Grant has publicly criticised a Heathrow Airport immigration officer after what he described as an inappropriate encounter involving his children. The incident took place on Friday, 4 April, as Grant travelled through the airport with his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein, and three of their children.

Grant, best known for his performances in films such as Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary, described the experience on X (formerly Twitter). He explained that although all members of his family had the surname “Grant” on their passports, an immigration officer engaged his children in casual conversation before whispering to them, “Are these your Mum and Dad?”

Keep ReadingShow less
assisted-dying-bill
Disability campaigners from 'Dignity in Dying' hold placards as they demonstrate outside The Palace of Westminster on April 29, 2024, during a gathering in favour of the proposals to legalise assisted suicide in the UK. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Faith leaders raise concerns over assisted dying bill’s impact on women

MORE than 100 women from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Sikh communities have raised concerns that the proposed assisted dying legislation in England and Wales could be used to harm vulnerable women, especially those facing domestic abuse and coercive control.

In an open letter published on Sunday by Theos, a Christian thinktank, the signatories warned the terminally ill adults bill has “insufficient safeguards to protect some of the most marginalised in society, particularly women subjected to gender-based violence and abuse by a partner”, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tata-Motors-Reuters

Tata Motors shares fall 10 per cent after JLR halts US exports

SHARES of Tata Motors dropped 10 per cent on Monday after its luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) suspended exports of its British-made cars to the United States.

The move follows the implementation of a 25 per cent import tariff by US president Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Craig Ainsworth, Ex-Bodyguard to Beckhams, Dies in Spain

Craig was hired as the Beckhams’ bodyguard through the US-based security firm Gavin De Becker

Instagram/ craigainsworth83

Craig Ainsworth, former bodyguard to David and Victoria Beckham, found dead in Spain

Craig Ainsworth, a former bodyguard to David and Victoria Beckham, has been found dead after reportedly disappearing in Spain.

The 40-year-old ex-Royal Marine’s death was confirmed by his mother, Sally Ainsworth, in an emotional online post on Saturday, 5 April. She had previously appealed for information regarding his whereabouts after Craig posted a final message on Facebook, saying goodbye.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Reuters

Starmer said on Sunday that he was ready to step in to support affected industries, and later announced a plan to help the UK auto sector. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Starmer unveils plan to support carmakers hit by tariffs

THE GOVERNMENT on Sunday announced measures to support carmakers in their shift to electric vehicles, as the auto industry faces pressure from new international trade rules.

Washington recently introduced new tariffs, including a 25 per cent levy on vehicles imported into the United States, impacting global carmakers.

Keep ReadingShow less