Karachi: Former Pakistani International cricketer Khalid Latif is facing a trial for inciting murder against far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, with Dutch prosecutors seeking 12 years in jail for him.

Prosecutors on Wednesday told judges they were seeking a 12-year sentence for a former Pakistani cricketer who is being tried in absentia for urging people to murder Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders in 2018. The 37-year-old suspect, identified in court as ex-cricketer Khalid Latif who lives in Pakistan, is charged with incitement to murder, incitement to criminal acts and threatening violence against Wilders, reported Reuters.

Prosecutors said Latif posted a video in 2018, offering some 21,000 euros (at the time) reward for the murder of Wilders.  That video came after Wilders said he planned to hold a cartoon contest depicting caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The competition was later cancelled. Images of the Prophet Mohammad are forbidden in Islam as a form of idolatry. Caricatures are regarded by most Muslims as highly offensive. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Latif - who received a five-year ban from cricket in 2017 over a spot-fixing scandal - for comment. Latif, 37, captained the Pakistan team in the 2010 Asian Games.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 31 2023

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