Netherlands Court Sentences 12-Year Jail To Pakistan's Khalid Latif

image-lmfv02oyFormer Pakistan player Khalid Latif played five ODIs and 13 T20Is [X.com]

A court in the Netherlands have sentenced former Pakistan international Khalid Latif to 12 years of jail time, after being involved in inciting people to kill Dutch right-wing leader Geert Wilders. 

The Dutch court in its statement explained that Latif has been charged concerning murder, sedition, and threat. Interestingly, Latif has never attended any court proceedings in the Netherlands and current resides in Pakistan. 

As of now, no judicial or extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and the Netherlands, where despite multiple attempts the former nations have failed to cooperate. 

Dutch prosecutors proved in court that Latif posted a video in 2018 where he offered a EUR 21,100 reward for the murder of Wilders.  

At the time, Wilders had announced a cartoon contest depicting a drawing of Prophet Mohammad, which was later canceled following widespread protest from Islamic countries. For the uninitiated, images of Prophet Mohammad are forbidden. 

In their statement, the Hague district court said that the former Pakistan batter used explicit words. 


Here's what the Netherlands court stated

"The words used by the suspect are explicit: he promises to pay a considerable sum of money to anyone who engages in a specific act, namely the killing of Mr Wilders. It is very likely that someone - anywhere in the world - would feel compelled to act on this call."

Earlier, Latif was found guilty of spot-fixing in the Pakistan Super League in 2017, where the player received a five-year ban. The 37-year-old has played five ODIs and 13 T20Is between 2008 and 2016.