AMSTERDAM – An Amsterdam court will force Mohammed B, the confessed murderer of Theo van Gogh, to appear on 26 July when the verdict is read in his trial.
His attorney, P Plasman, said B did not wish to appear.
A court spokeswoman said the judges had signed an order requiring him to be present.
B also did not want to appear in court on 11 and 12 July when the court was handling his case in the high-security court in Amsterdam-Osdorp; then, too, he was required to attend.
Plasman said he could only guess at the court’s reasons for forcing B to appear this time. ‘While a case is being handled, a suspect’s appearance can serve the interest of the inquiry. That isn’t true for the verdict. Clearly they want to be sure that he hears the whole verdict,’ he said.
Public prosecutor F van Straelen demanded a life sentence for B on 12 July.