Amsterdam - The animal-rights activist charged with murdering populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn has confessed to the crime, breaking a seven-month silence and saying that he thought the populist Dutch politician was a danger to society, prosecutors said Saturday.
In his first statement since his arrest minutes after the shooting last May, Volkert van der Graaf, 33, said he had been concerned Fortuyn was gaining too much power and posed a threat to "vulnerable members of society," the Amsterdam district attorney's office said.
He also said he was worried about Fortuyn's "prejudiced political ideas" and their possible polarizing effect in the Netherlands, said the prosecutors' statement. The only suspect in the case, Mr. van der Graaf said he had acted alone and that no one else knew he intended to kill Fortuyn, who was then a leading candidate in national elections and a potential prime minister.
Mr. van der Graaf faces a possible life imprisonment for premeditated murder, a sentence rarely handed down in the Netherlands. Under Dutch law, prosecutors still need to prove their case in court even when a suspect confesses. Hearings are expected to begin as scheduled early next year.
The suspect was captured after a brief chase near the parking lot where he allegedly shot Fortuyn. He was caught with the murder weapon in his pocket, gunpowder on his gloves, and cell tissue on his trousers.
Fortuyn, an outspoken gay academic and columnist, swiftly gained popularity on an anti-immigration platform. He was killed after giving a radio interview on May 6, nine days before general elections.
His party went on to become the second largest in the Netherlands and won a place in the three-party governing coalition. But bickering between its members led to the collapse of the government last month. The party, called Pim Fortuyn's List, is expected to virtually be disappear when new elections are held on Jan. 22.
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