Dutch politician's killer Volkert van der Graaf set for release

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- The animal rights activist who assassinated Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002 is due to be released Friday, after serving 12 years of an 18-year sentence.Release after serving two-thirds of a sentence is the norm in the Netherlands.Volkert van der Graaf killed Fortuyn days before national elections in which Fortuyn was set to win big on an anti-immigration platform that reversed the then-progressive Dutch political landscape.Most of Fortuyn's ideas have since become reality.Van der Graaf's sentence has been widely criticized as too light. Judges had to choose between a maximum sentence of 20 years for a first-time offender motivated by misguided principles, or life in prison without parole.Justice Ministry spokesman Jochgem van Opstal said Van der Graaf's release has conditions attached.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_NETHERLANDS_ASSASSIN_RELEASED?CTIME=2014-05-02-03-37-46&SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT