The trial of Samir Azzouz and five other suspects accused of planning terrorist acts in the Netherlands which opened on Monday has already hit problems. Samir Azzouz, a 20-year-old Dutch-Moroccan, has appeared in court before and twice been acquitted, even though many believe he's a serious terrorist threat. On Monday he was back in court in Amsterdam after prosecutors claimed they had fresh evidence against him, including a self-made video tape in which he said goodbye to his family and states in Arabic, "We will spill your blood here as you have spilled the blood of Muslim citizens in Iraq."
Attack
Samir Azzouz is accused, along with five others of planning to attack top Dutch politicians and the headquarters of the Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, and possessing weapons. The case is something of a test of relatively new anti-terrorism legislation which wasn't in place when the 20-year-old previously went on trial.
His co-defendants are Nourridine El Fatmi, already serving time in prison for being a member of the Hofstad group, Mohamed Hamdi, Brahim Harhour, Mohamed Chentouf and Soumaya Sahla. Prosecutors claim that after the arrest and subsequent conviction of Mohammed Bouyeri - the killer of film-maker Theo van Gogh - the other defendants started to form a group around Samir Azzouz.
Celebrity
Emerson Vermaat, author of two books about radical Muslims in the Netherlands told RNW that Samir Azzouz has become something of a celebrity among other radicals:
"Samir Azzouz is making a lot of noise and drawing a lot of attention [to himself]. I think [Mohammed] Bouyeri is cleverer, [but] this does not mean Samir Azzouz is less dangerous. He is as dangerous as Bouyeri, but he is not as clever."
On Monday, prosecutors told the court how Samir Azzouz and his co-defendants were found in possession of automatic weapons, a revolver and ammunition, manuals explaining how to turn mobile phones into detonators and computer files containing Jihad training manuals. Written evidence is also being brought before the court that Samir Azzouz asked a man to help him carry out a suicide attack on the AIVD [Dutch security services] headquarters.
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Click to listen to an interview with Emerson Vermaat |
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Emerson Vermaat believes that unlike the previous trials, this time the case carries more weight and is backed up by the recent legislation:
"The new law on terrorism was introduced in August 2004. Samir Azzouz was arrested the first time because of events which had happened before August 2004, so the new law was not applicable. There was also the problem of recruitment for Jihad, that was not punishable under the old law, but is under the new law."
Mr Vermaat also thinks that the video recording made by Samir Azzouz in which he threatens to blow himself up in revenge for the deaths of Muslims will be enough to convict him.
Tags: Arabic, Iraq, judge, public prosecutor, samir azzouz, suicide attacks, terrorism hofstad group, trial