A Dutch court on Monday convicted two Pakistani political leaders of making calls for the murder of right-wing leader Geert Wilders, though both are abroad and are unlikely to serve their sentences, Reuters reported.
Dutch prosecutors charged 56-year-old religious leader Muhammed Ashraf Jalali for calling on his followers to kill Wilders and promising they would be "rewarded in the afterlife."
Another man, Saad Hussain Rizvi, leader of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, is suspected of urging followers to kill Wilders after Pakistani cricketer Khalid Latif was sentenced for incitement to murder him.
The trial of the two began in absentia last week.
The court said in a statement that the 56-year-old was sentenced to 14 years for attempted and actual incitement and threats to murder with terrorist intent, while the second was sentenced to four years for incitement and threats to murder.
No treaty exists with Pakistan for mutual legal assistance and the two men did not appear and neither had legal representation present at the trial.
Wilders is known for his tough views on Islam, with his party having previously vowed to close mosques and “ban the Quran” in its manifesto.
His stance against Islam has in the past sparked outrage around the Muslim world and prompted death threats that have led to him living under round-the-clock protection.
In 2018, Wilders canceled a planned cartoon contest of the Prophet Mohammed after protests broke out in Pakistan and he was inundated with death threats.
In 2020, a Dutch court cleared Wilders of inciting hatred and discrimination, but upheld his conviction for insulting a racial group after he led calls for "fewer Moroccans" in the Netherlands at a rally several years prior.