Dutchman faces terrorism charges for throwing Molotov cocktail at mosque

A 33-year-old Dutch man arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail towards a mosque in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede faces charges of attempted arson with terrorist intent, according to the Public Prosecution Service.

On Saturday night, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a mosque in Enschede, a city of about 150,000 people close to Germany. One man was chased by residents who also called the police. After a short time the man was arrested. The mosque did not suffer serious damages and the small fire was quickly put out.

The public prosecution said the attempted arson posed danger to human beings, as a number of people including children were present in the mosque. Therefore the case in this instance is attempted arson with terrorist objective, or preparation or promotion of arson with terrorist intent. Terrorist intent means the accused had the intention to exacerbate fear in a part of the population.

It is a first case in recent history in the Netherlands that an incident at a mosque got the label "terrorism".

Presumably more people were involved in the attempted arson. The police investigation is still underway. The arrestee will remain in custody for 14 days.

The umbrella organization of mosques in the Netherlands (CMO) said it welcomes the way the Public Prosecution Service deals with this case, calling it a positive development that could discourage potential perpetrators.

The CMO also asked the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security to make a new assessment of the threat for mosques. Last week, several mosques in the Netherlands received threatening letters. The Public Prosecution Service said these letters are criminal offense because of the depiction of a swastika in combination with an eagle, which is a Nazi symbol. The police take this case seriously and investigating is ongoing. Enditem