French, Dutch arrest two men over Van Gogh murder

PARIS/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – French and Dutch police have arrested two Chechen men in connection with the murder of a Dutch filmmaker critical of Islam, Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday.

Bislan Ismailov, who was arrested in France on May 18, would be transferred to the Netherlands from France in June to be charged in connection with the murder of Theo van Gogh, a spokesman for Amsterdam prosecutors said.

“We have found his fingerprints on a farewell letter that (Van Gogh’s suspected killer) Mohammed B. wrote to his parents,” the spokesman said, adding the arrest had been made on the request of Dutch authorities. He refused to give other details.

Dutch news agency ANP said the letter was found in a house in Amsterdam, where the suspected killer’s father and sister lived.

Dutch police arrested another Chechen man in Amsterdam in April after finding his fingerprints on a tape in Mohammed B.’s apartment, prosecutors said later on Thursday.

ANP said he was 22-year-old Marat J. from Grozny.

A French judicial source said the 25-year-old Ismailov, a Russian of Chechen origin, was arrested near the town of Tours in central France.

Dutch authorities have charged Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri with the murder of Van Gogh, who was gunned down as he cycled to work in Amsterdam on November 2. Van Gogh is a descendant of the brother of 19th century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.

Dutch prosecutors have said Bouyeri, whose trial is set to start in July, probably had accomplices.

Twelve members of a suspected group of Islamic militants were detained in the Netherlands after Van Gogh’s murder. One of them has since been released, but charges against him remain.

All men are charged with belonging to a criminal group, conspiring to murder and threatening to kill prominent politicians critical of Islam.

Read Another Article

AUM Members Nabbed for Dispatching Workers to Firms Without Permit
Bush vetoes Scientology bill

Related News Articles Topic(s): Islam Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Islam Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog