Assassination of Theo van Gogh

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Assassination of Theo van Gogh
Protests where van Gogh was killed
LocationAmsterdam East
Coordinates52°21′32.22″N 4°55′34.74″E / 52.3589500°N 4.9263167°E / 52.3589500; 4.9263167[1]
Date2 November 2004
9 am
TargetTheo Van Gogh[2]
Attack type
Murder by shooting and stabbing, assassination
WeaponsHS2000 handgun
Deaths1
PerpetratorsMohammed Bouyeri
MotiveTo oppose the controversial film Submission

Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri in Amsterdam East, Netherlands in broad daylight. The director's last words, according to eyewitnesses, were "Mercy mercy! We can talk about this!"[3]

Attack[change | change source]

The murderer Mohammed Bouyeri an Islamic extremist killed van Gogh.[4] The reason for murdering Gogh was to oppose the controversial film which criticised Islam Submission. Bouyeri shot and stabbed van Gogh, then cut his throat.[5] Finally the killer attached a 5 page letter to van Gogh's chest with a knife.[5] Bouyeri was chased by Dutch police after shooting a bullet into Bouyeri's leg. Bouyeri was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Bouyeri stated, he doesn't have any regret for killing van Gogh.[6] He termed the assassination as Jihad.[6]

Funeral[change | change source]

Van Gogh was buried in Amsterdam on 9 November, 2004. Van Gogh's son claimed that many assassination attempts were made but van Gogh refused to take police protection.

Hirsi's hiding[change | change source]

Sooner after van Gogh's assassination, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders went into hiding. This is because Bouyeri made death threats against Hirsi as the writer of the film.[7][8]

Memorial (The Scream)[change | change source]

The Scream a monument in memory of Gogh

On 18 March 2007, a sculpture honoring van Gogh, entitled De Schreeuw ("The Scream"), was unveiled in Amsterdam. It is located in the Oosterpark, a short distance from where van Gogh was murdered.[9]

References[change | change source]

  1. Gunman kills Dutch film director. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  2. Dutch Filmmaker, an Islam Critic, Is Killed - New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2014
  3. "weblog.roelonline.net 4 nov 2004". Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  4. Gunman kills Dutch film director. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Van Gogh killer jailed for life". BBC News. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Dutch News (July 9, 2010). "Van Gogh killer has no regrets". Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  7. ""Controversial filmmaker shot dead"". Archived from the original on 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  8. "Ayaan Hirsi Ali: My life under a fatwa". The Independent. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  9. "Monument Theo van Gogh onthuld (video)". Nu.nl. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

Other websites[change | change source]