THE HAGUE, 15 October 2005 — Dutch authorities arrested seven new suspected members of the Hofstad group terrorist cell yesterday and eliminated “an acute threat” to several politicians and intelligence services, Interior Minister Johan Remkes said.
The arrests led to heightened security measures in the Netherlands around the government buildings in central Hague, which were sealed off by police, and the AIVD intelligence service headquarters.
Remkes told a news conference that the seven suspects arrested yesterday were members of the Hofstad group. Already the Dutch authorities have 13 people in custody awaiting trial on charges of belonging to the group, including the convicted murderer of filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
“The intelligence services have established that despite earlier arrests this network has continued its activities. The group has grown in size in the last year and does not only consist of young men but also of young women,” Remkes said.
Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner appealed for calm and said the Muslim community in the Netherlands should not be blamed for the actions of the suspects.
“Everything points to the fact that the suspects acted and wanted to act based on an extreme religious ideology. I want to stress that this is a handful of people who, in my opinion, abuse the Islamic faith to justify their actions,” he said.
The suspects, six men and a woman, were arrested in The Hague, Amsterdam and nearby Almere, the national prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The main suspect according to the authorities is 19-year-old Samir Azzouz, who in April this year was acquitted of charges of planning terrorist attacks because of insufficient evidence. “Information of the AIVD intelligence service showed (Azzouz) was trying to get automatic firearms and explosives,” the prosecutor’s office said. “He is suspected of preparing attacks, together with other persons, on several politicians and government buildings.”
During one of the arrests in The Hague, eyewitnesses reported hearing gunshots but the NOS national public television reported that the police had fired flares to create confusion which would explain the noises heard. The suspects will appear in court on Monday in Rotterdam for a procedural hearing to see if they can be remanded in custody. With the exception of Azzouz, the national prosecutor’s office declined to identify the other suspects.
