22 June 2012

 

The public prosecution of Amsterdam will not bring chartes against Haitham al-Haddad for comments made during a debate in the city this spring. The event replaced a symposium at the city’s Vrij Universiteit, cancelled following commotion over al-Haddad’s presence. Anti-Islam campaigner Ehsan Jami called for legal action against al-Haddad, a British-Palestinian expert and controversial figure. Jami’s accusations were based on Al-Haddad’s comment that Sharia law prescribes the death penalty for ex-Muslims. The Amsterdam public prosecution declined to charge al-Haddad, stating that he had not committed any offenses because the conditions which he outlined for applying the death penalty clearly could not occur in the Netherlands.