Assassination of Theo van Gogh

Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri in Amsterdam East, Netherlands in broad daylight. The director's last words, according to eyewitnesses, were "Mercy mercy! We can talk about this!"^[3]

Assassination of Theo van Gogh
Protests where van Gogh was killed
Location	Amsterdam East
Coordinates	52°21′32.22″N 4°55′34.74″E[1]
Date	2 November 2004 9 am
Target	Theo Van Gogh[2]
Attack type	Murder by shooting and stabbing, assassination
Weapons	HS2000 handgun
Deaths	1
Perpetrators	Mohammed Bouyeri
Motive	To oppose the controversial film Submission

Attack and death

The murderer Mohammed Bouyeri an Islamic extremist killed van Gogh.^[4] The reason for murdering Gogh was to oppose the controversial film which criticised Islam Submission. Bouyeri shot van Gogh multiple times.^[5] He attached a 5 page letter to van Gogh's chest with a knife. Bouyeri finally then slitting van Gogh's throat and nearly beheading van Gogh, killing him instantly.^[5] Bouyeri was arrested by Dutch police force after he was shot in the leg. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Bouyeri stated that he does not have any regret for murdering van Gogh.^[6] He termed the assassination as Jihad.^[6]

Funeral

Van Gogh was buried in Amsterdam on 9 November, 2004. Van Gogh's son claimed that many assassination attempts were made but van Gogh refused to take police protection.

Hirsi's hiding

Sooner after van Gogh's assassination, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders went into hiding. This is because Bouyeri made death threats against Hirsi as the writer of the film.^[7][8]

Memorial (The Scream)

The Scream a monument in memory of Gogh

On 18 March 2007, a sculpture honoring van Gogh, entitled De Schreeuw ("The Scream"), was unveiled in Amsterdam. It is located in the Oosterpark, a short distance from where van Gogh was murdered.^[9]