24 September 2004

AMSTERDAM — A last will and testament was found when an 18-year-old man was arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in the Netherlands. The list of potential targets included the Dutch Parliament, Schiphol Airport and the nuclear reactor Borssele, a court in Rotterdam was told on Thursday.

The former student of Moroccan ancestry wrote in the will that he wants his newborn son to live "in the spirit of Jihad", an Islamic holy war, newspaper NRC reported on Friday.

Samir A. was arrested on 30 June this year on suspicion of involvement in an armed robbery at an Edah supermarket. Police seized floor plans of possible terrorist attack targets in a raid of his home. The plans also contained details about security.

The arrest led the Dutch government to issue a terror warning on 9 July. Security was tightened at key installations in the west of the nation and North Brabant. The terror warning has not been rescinded.

A. was previously arrested in October last year on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack with several other suspects. He was released shortly after due to lack of evidence.

Reports from the Council for Child Protection and the Forensic Psychiatric Service have described A. as someone who "gradually fell under the spell of ideas about the oppression of Islam". They also said that A. — who was a minor at the time of his arrest — is "adult in life" and is "fearless and fatalistic".

Rotterdam Court extended his remand in custody for three months on Thursday. A. will now undergo a psychiatric assessment at the Pieter Baan Centrum in Utrecht, but the defence said the defendant will no co-operate.

The prosecution is also investigating the possibility that A. — who is refusing to make a statement to justice officials — had accomplices in the alleged terrorist attack preparations.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news