Dutch court sentences five for backing Tamil Tigers

Five ethnic Tamil men were given up to six years in prison by the District Court in The Hague. They were found guilty of helping finance the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) with millions of euros, as part of their battle for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka.

The court was packed with Tamil supporters as the three judges read out the verdict. Family members left the courtroom crying, reports Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW).

Prosecutors had accused the five men, all of whom now have Dutch citizenship, of raising funds for the separatist group LTTE (Tamil Tigers) by extorting money from the Sri Lankan disapora in the Netherlands by blackmail and under threat.

Prosecutors also alleged money laundering and incitement to violence. The men were charged of overseeing an international criminal and terrorist organisation involved in arson, bombings and murder, and prosecutors had demanded sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

But on Friday, the court convicted the men, all in leadership positions in the Dutch branch of the LTTE, of supporting a criminal organisation. By raising funds for it while they knew the organisation was on an EU ban list.

Therefore, the court ruled that the five violated a Dutch law that prohibits the support of banned organisations. Besides, the men ran illegal lotteries to raise money on violation of Dutch gambling laws.

At the heart of the case was the question whether the LTTE could be labelled as a criminal or terrorist organisation, as charged by the prosecutors. Despite the fact the Tamil Tigers are on the EU ban list for acts of terror, the Dutch court said the Sri Lankan conflict should be labelled as a civil war.

The public prosecutor was astonished by the verdict, saying it surprising, strange and unexpected that the court came to the conclusion that the LTTE was not considered a terrorist, but a criminal organisation.

Viktor Koppe, a lawyer for one of the defendants, said he will appeal the judgment, saying it is full of contradictions.