Dutch politician's killer sentenced to 18 years

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The killer of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison -- a punishment that elicited courtroom boos, crying and derision from Fortuyn supporters who said it was not nearly severe enough.

Volkert van der Graaf, 33, confessed to shooting Fortuyn outside a radio station May 6, just nine days before elections in which Fortuyn was contending for prime minister, to prevent him from gaining power and carrying out his anti-immigration agenda.

The crime shattered the country's tradition of peaceful democracy, and Fortuyn's supporters said Van der Graaf should be sentenced to life in prison. The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870.

When the judge read the verdict, outraged Fortuyn supporters booed and stormed out of the public gallery. They later threw garbage at a car taking Van der Graaf back to prison and shouted profanities at the judges.

Life sentences are extremely rare; only 21 have been handed down in the past 50 years, generally for serial murders.

The judges said Van der Graaf likely would not kill again and deserved a chance to rejoin society.

Van der Graaf, looking relieved after the sentence was read, glanced briefly at his lawyers and was led away. With good behavior and the time served taken into account, he likely will be released early, possibly in 2014.

Fortuyn was shot five times from behind at point-blank range, and died shortly later of wounds to the head and chest.

Van der Graaf fled on foot but was arrested minutes later with the murder weapon in his pocket, gunpowder on his hands and Fortuyn's DNA on his trousers.

The killing shocked the Netherlands, where politicians rarely keep bodyguards and many government leaders ride their bicycles to work.

Fortuyn was a brash gay academic who defied stereotypes and drew strong criticism for calling Islam a "backward religion." He blamed rising crime on the Moroccan and Turkish minorities and demanded a moratorium on new immigration.

After his murder, his leaderless party joined a conservative governing coalition, but infighting led to the government's collapse and new elections in January. A new government has yet to be formed.

Fortuyn's brother, Simon, told reporters he was disappointed with the verdict, but added, "I'm not so filled with rancor that I have to see him behind bars for the rest of his life."

At his trial, Van der Graaf said he wanted to prevent Fortuyn from hurting weak members of society, comparing his rise to that of Adolf Hitler. In a final statement he said he regretted "the grief I have caused so many."

But Prosecutor Koos Plooy questioned Van der Graaf's sincerity, saying he only regretted getting caught. Plooy said Van der Graaf, an animal rights activist, killed Fortuyn because Fortuyn promised to lift a ban on breeding animals for fur if elected.

Van der Graaf was described by other activists as a "fanatic," working up to 80 hours a week before the assassination litigating against commercial animal farming.