Utrecht tram attack gunman gets life in prison
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Dutch lawyer Sebas Diekstra (2nd from the right) of Roos Verschuur, one of the victims of Gokmen Tanis, arrives with Roos' father Rene Verschuur (2nd from the left) and relatives at the District Court for the trial in The Netherlands on March 5, 2020.
PHOTO: AFP
THE HAGUE • Dutch judges have sentenced a Turkish-born man to life in prison for a shooting on a tram in the city of Utrecht that killed four people.
Gokmen Tanis, 38, opened fire with a pistol on a tram while shouting "Allahu Akbar" on March 18 last year.
He was "convicted of the shooting of a terrorist nature in a tram in Utrecht", the murder of four people and the attempted murder of 17 others.
"Only a life sentence is appropriate," the court said.
He killed a 19-year-old woman and three men aged 28, 49 and 74, while around a dozen other people were injured.
Tanis, who had a criminal record for rape and theft, was arrested the day after the attack.
He later confessed.
Tanis had used the term "democrats" to describe Dutch people or non-Muslims.
The court, however, questioned whether he was an actual extremist, citing experts who said Tanis' interest in radicalisation was less because of religious beliefs and more because of his "own problems and failures in life".
He had been a resident of the Netherlands since 1993.
The trial was interrupted several times when Tanis spat at his lawyer, made obscene gestures at the judges, and provoked one of the victims as she gave her testimony.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
