The Netherlands has a sad tradition of public and sensational executions. The motives differ, but each time it concerns an important, and often assertive, figure against whom an attack is carried out in broad daylight.
–
Pim Fortuyn
The Dutch radical right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead on 6 May 2002 by Volkert van der Graaf, a derailed loner and radical left-wing environmental activist. That happened outside the Media Park in Hilversum, where Pim Fortuyn had just given an interview. Fortuyn was a flamboyant populist who had turned Dutch politics upside down with a lot of charisma and guts. Volkert van der Graaf was given 18 years and was released on parole in 2014. Pim Fortuyn received 1,358,942 votes posthumously.
–
Pim Fortuyn
Photo: AFP
Theo Van Gogh
Filmmaker and columnist Theo Van Gogh was murdered on the street in Amsterdam on the morning of November 2, 2004 by the Muslim fundamentalist Mohammed Bouyeri. He first fired several times at Van Gogh, then slit his throat with a machete, and finally stabbed a knife in his chest. He left a note with a death threat for activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who had made the film ‘Submission’ with Van Gogh, strongly criticizing Islam. Bouyeri was sentenced to life in prison for the terrorist murder. The attack shocked the whole country and also received a lot of international attention.
–
Theo Van Gogh
Photo: AFP
Derk Wiersum
Lawyer Derk Wiersum was 44 years old when he was shot by two men on the street in Amsterdam on September 18, 2019. He acted as counsel for a key witness against the Netherlands’ most wanted drug criminal Ridouan Taghi, who was still hiding in Dubai at the time. The drug lord’s intention was presumably to intimidate lawyers so that they would no longer dare to represent witnesses. The Dutch legal world describes the attack as the ’11 September’ of the Dutch judiciary. The pressure to arrest Ridouan Taghi became immense and the Dutch government obtained from Dubai that he was arrested and extradited.
–
Derk Wiersum
Photo: BELGAIMAGE
– .
