40,000 sign against early release of Fortuyn’s killer

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition to prevent the early release of Volkert van der Graaf, the man who shot and killed populist politician Pim Fortuyn.
Fortuyn’s erstwhile driver Hans Smolders, who organised the petition, will present the signatures to Deputy Justice Minister Hans Teeven on Friday.
Van der Graaf shot Pim Fortuyn on 6 May 2002 as the politician left a studio in Hilversum - just a few hundred metres away from the Radio Netherlands Worldwide building.
Van der Graaf was sentenced to an 18-year jail sentence in 2003. Under Dutch law, he will be eligible for probationary furlough in May 2013 and early release in May 2014.
(gsh/ae)
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