Amsterdam
The man who confessed to murdering politician Pim Fortuyn said at his trial this week that he did it to protect Muslims. Radical environmentalist Volkert Van der Graaf is on trial for shooting Fortuyn, the charismatic leader of a right-wing populist party, last year. Fortuyn was a kind of gay libertarian who spoke out strongly against the rise of militant Islam among Muslim immigrants to the Netherlands. “He was an ever growing danger who would threaten many people in society,” Van der Graaf said. “I hoped that I could solve it myself.” Van der Graaf, 33, faces up to 20 years in prison.
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