The Dutch supreme court annulled today a lower court's acquittal of seven men of belonging to an Islamist militant group, after public outcry over the verdicts.
The seven had been convicted of belonging to the "Hofstad Group", an allegedly terrorist or criminal organisation, in 2006, but an appeals court in The Hague had ruled in 2008 there was insufficient evidence to convict them.
"In its ruling, the appeals court place overly strict conditions on the existence and the structure of a criminal or terrorist organisation," the supreme court said in its ruling.
One of the seven, Jason Walters, has been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for the attempted murder of police officers and possession of a grenade. Ismail Akhnikh was sentenced to 15 months on charges of possession of a grenade.
Zine Labidine Aourghe was sentenced to 18 months in connection with the case in 2006 and deported to Morocco.
The Hofstad Group was a band of young militants mainly of Moroccan origin based in The Hague who had links to Mohammed Bouyeri, the convicted killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
Walters and Akhnikh were arrested in November 2004 during a raid on a house in The Hague, after police sealed off an entire district and arresting officers were attacked with a grenade.
The prosecutor alleged the members of the Hofstad Group had intended to carry out terrorist attacks, but the appeals court acquitted them of forming a terrorist group on grounds that their network was not structured enough to warrant the charge.
The supreme court ordered today the Amsterdam appeals court to re-examine the case and the acquittals. No date has been set for the retrial.
Reuters