2 Rappers Found Guilty of 'Serious Threats
| 2 Rappers Found Guilty of 'Serious Threats |
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| Written by Robert ID779 |
| Thursday, 27 January 2005 22:45 |
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Two rap artist were given a suspended jail term at a court in The Hague for lyrics which threatened a Dutch politician. The members of DHC were found guilty of making "serious threats" to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a critic of Islam, in a song circulated on the internet. The unnamed pair of hip-hop rappers were also given 150 hours of community service by a court. Somali born Ms Hirsi Ali has recently come out of hiding following death threats triggered by a film she wrote with murdered director Theo Van Gogh. A death threat was attached to the body of Van Gogh which led to her fearing for her life. Ms Hirsi Ali is an outspoken critic of Islamic fundamentalism and claimed the Koran encouraged violence against women. The rappers defence was that they were exercising freedom of expression and it was meant as a private recording that found its way on to the internet without their permission. But the judge said: "The charges were aggravated by the fact that the suspect threatened ... (Hirsi Ali) over her political viewpoints, because this is a serious breach of the democratic rule of law." |
