Geert Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands, received hundreds of substantial threats on his life last year — more than every other Dutch politician combined.
The Public Prosecution Service revealed on Monday that authorities received 1,125 reports last year from politicians regarding death threats, a new record and almost twice more than the previous year.
Of that figure, approximately 600 threats were targeted at Wilders, a Dutch conservative politician who has long been an outspoken critic of Islamic extremism, using his platform to warn of the dangers of mass immigration and failed social and cultural integration.
Many threats directed at Wilders originate from Pakistan, according to the public prosecutor’s office, but with the absence of a judicial agreement treaty with the country to initiate further investigations, successful prosecution is problematic.
One such example relates to ex-Pakistan international cricketer, Khalid Latif, who was charged by the Dutch public prosecutor’s office last month for allegedly trying to incite people to murder Wilders.
Dutch prosecutors requested the assistance of Pakistani authorities to serve the summons on Latif, who has been ordered to appear in court in Amsterdam on Aug. 29 for charges of attempting to incite murder, sedition, and threats.
Without an extradition treaty, however, the chances of his attendance are slim to none.
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Of the reports recorded last year, a total of 889 cases were considered to be legitimate threats deserving of prosecution; however, the medium of social media where a majority of these threats occur under anonymity is making the growing issue increasingly more difficult to contain.
Due to the lack of cooperation from social media platforms to provide information about suspects, a total of 712 cases had to be discontinued by the public prosecutor’s office.
Just 37 cases last year resulted in a criminal conviction, although 127 cases are still ongoing.
