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Fortuyn killer 'acted for Muslims'
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands -- The man accused of assassinating Dutch anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn has told judges he acted on behalf of the country's Muslims. Volkert Van der Graaf, 33, said during his first court appearance in Amsterdam on Thursday that Fortuyn was using "the weakest parts of society to score points" and gain political power. Van der Graaf, who is charged with premeditated murder, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms and sending Fortuyn threats before carrying out the attack, the Associated Press reports. Although he allegedly confessed to the killing, under Dutch law prosecutors must present their case to a panel of judges. There are no jury trials in the Netherlands. "(The idea) was never concrete until the last moment, the day before the attack," the news agency reported Van der Graaf as saying. "I saw it as a danger, but what should you do about it?" he said. "I hoped that I could solve it myself." Fortuyn, an academic and columnist, was running for the post of prime minister on an anti-immigration platform. The proceedings are being held in a high-security courtroom, nicknamed "The Bunker," which is separated by a bulletproof glass barrier. Onlookers continually interrupted the proceedings, denouncing Van der Graaf as a murderer and chanting "Life! Life!" to press for a tough sentence. He briefly scanned the public gallery for familiar faces, avoiding eye contact with Fortuyn's two brothers, Maarten and Simon, sitting nearby. One woman stood up to demand Van der Graaf be jailed for life, saying he "devastated the country," before being dragged out by court officials to join a handful of Fortuyn supporters outside. Prosecutors began by showing a video animation reconstructing the pursuit of Van Der Graaf by Fortuyn's driver and several other witnesses of the murder.
The accused had been arrested minutes after the shooting in a car park outside a radio studio where the killing took place in May 2002. He had the murder weapon in his pocket and his trousers were spattered with Fortuyn's blood, AP said. The killing of Fortuyn, days before the country was to go to the polls in a general election, sent shockwaves through the Netherlands and propelled Fortuyn's party and his anti-immigration policy into a three-party right-wing coalition government. But the administration later collapsed amid political bickering and infighting. New elections were held in January which saw public support for his party, the Fortuyn List, collapse. Van der Graaf, a father-of-one, allegedly confessed to the killing last November, saying he was worried Fortuyn was gaining too much power and posed a threat to "vulnerable members of society." The agriculture university graduate has gone on hunger strike for more than two months complaining of 24-hour camera surveillance in his cell. The trial, held in a high-security courtroom, is expected to take several days. Van der Graaf, whose lawyers represented him at several earlier hearings, remains the only suspect in the case. However, prosecutors have not ruled out that he may have worked with others. He faces a life sentence if found guilty. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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