Muslim extremist admits guilt in Dutch killing

AMSTERDAM -- The Muslim extremist on trial in the slaying of filmmaker Theo van Gogh admitted his guilt in court yesterday, declaring he acted out of religious conviction and would do it again if given the chance.

Mohammed Bouyeri also turned to van Gogh's mother, Anneke, in court and told her: ''I don't feel your pain."

''I can't feel for you because I think you're a nonbeliever," he said.

Bouyeri, 27, faces life imprisonment in the Nov. 2 killing of van Gogh, who was found shot and stabbed. Bouyeri has not mounted a defense.

''I did it out of conviction," he said. ''If I ever get free, I would do it again."

''I shot to kill and to be killed. You cannot understand," he said, addressing police officers in the public gallery whom he fired upon eight months ago.

Bouyeri's remarks came after prosecutors rested their case, which began Monday. The prosecutors demanded the maximum sentence because the crime was intended to shock the nation.

Dutch court cases usually run longer, but no defense was mounted. A verdict is expected July 26.

Van Gogh was a prominent critic of Muslim fundamentalism. Using a knife, the killer pinned van Gogh with a five-page note, filled with religious ramblings and threatening further attacks.

Prosecutor Frits van Straelen said Bouyeri has no intention of rehabilitation and would kill again unless he is locked up for life.

''He preaches that anyone who thinks differently can be killed," he said. ''He is and remains a danger to our society."

Bouyeri declined to answer questions from judges Monday because of a religious-based contempt for the court. At one point, he cited an Islamic prayer in response to questions from judges.

Police arrested Bouyeri after a shootout during which he held the gun prosecutors say was used in the murder. They say witnesses, blood spatters, ballistics, and DNA analysis tie him to the crime.

Bouyeri, allegedly a member of a terrorist cell known as the Hofstad Network, is said to have attended private prayer sessions with a Syrian spiritual leader, Redouan al-Issar, who disappeared before the van Gogh killing.

Twelve other suspected group members are awaiting trial on separate terrorism charges.

Van Straelen said yesterday that there was some evidence Bouyeri had help, especially financial help, but there are no other suspects who can be shown to have directly participated.

Van Gogh, a distant relative of the artist Vincent van Gogh, was apparently targeted because he offended many Muslims with his 2004 short film ''Submission," which told fictional stories of Muslim women who were sexually and physically abused.