THE HAGUE, Jan 25 (AFP) - The suspected murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh has had several brushes with justice and was sentenced in 2001 to 12 weeks in jail for assaulting police officers, Dutch television reported on Tuesday.
Mohammed Bouyeri, 26, was stopped in possession of a knife in an Amsterdam park in June 2001, threatening the four officers with the knife and lunging at one of them before he was arrested, according to the public television report.
He was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail over the incident, the report said.
Bouyeri was also reportedly arrested following a bar brawl in the suburbs of Amsterdam in June 2000, although no charges were pressed.
An Amsterdam court will on Wednesday hold the first hearing in the case against Bouyeri, a suspected Islamic extremist who is accused of shooting and stabbing van Gogh to death as he was cycling in Amsterdam last November.
Bouyeri, who has dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and membership of a terrorist organisation. He was arrested shortly after the attack as he tried to flee, according to police.
An outspoken columnist and filmmaker, van Gogh was known for his critical stance towards Islam, and had recently caused an uproar in the Muslim community with his film "Submission", which deals with Islam and the abuse of women.
01/25/2005 21:02 GMT - AFP