A Dutch Islamist group planned to attack the Gay Pride in Amsterdam in 2018, which attracts tens of thousands of people every year, as well as other major targets, according to the hearing on Friday of witnesses at the trial of six arrested suspects two years ago and tried in Rotterdam.
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A judge read the testimony of a witness, an undercover policeman who said that the leader of the network, identified only by the name of Hardi N., had planned to attack the Gay Pride. Hardi N. had confided to the undercover policeman that he had dreamed that the prophet Mohammed had ordered him to carry out the attack, and that he needed the help of people knowledgeable about weapons.
The 36-year-old suspect also planned to attack an army base, shoot soldiers on foot and a nightclub, public television NOS reported. Images showing men brandishing AK-47 pistols and assault rifles in a tourist bungalow and their spectacular arrest by anti-terrorist police were projected during the trial.
Hardi N. was accused of planning to travel to Syria in 2014 to join the ranks of the Islamist organization Jabhat al-Nusra, but was later released. During the trial, he admitted to having a " radical worldview " but denied any membership in a terrorist organization or any intention to carry out a terrorist attack, according to Dutch media. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. The Gay Parade in Amsterdam attracts tens of thousands of spectators.
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