Fortuyn suspect on murder charge

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A vegan animal rights campaigner has been charged with the murder of Dutch right-wing leader Pim Fortuyn.

Volkert van der Graaf, 32, was remanded in custody for 10 days at a brief court hearing in Amsterdam after being charged with murder.

Van der Graaf, married and with a baby just a few months old, appeared briefly with a lawyer before the court, but made no statement.

His photograph, showing him with a receding hairline and steely gaze, was splashed on the front page of the country's biggest-selling daily, De Telegraaf, Wednesday.

Police say Van der Graaf, who has refused to make a statement, did not have a gun license. Murder is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

As an environmental activist, he had peacefully lobbied against the meat industry for years in the courts.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Dutch police arrest a suspect over the Fortuyn killing. CNN's Robin Oakley reports (May 7) Play video   YOUR SAY • Reaction: 'Bigger impact than Sept. 11'    EXTRA INFORMATION In-depth: Netherlands Decides 2002    MORE STORIES • Dutch election on despite murder  • Politicians lament Fortuyn's death  • Profile: Fortuyn - Man of paradox  • TIMELINE: Recent killings of politicians     QUICKVOTE Should the Dutch elections have been postponed following the shooting of Pim Fortuyn? Yes No View Results

Police have not established a motive for the crime, and there is no obvious link between the suspect's activism and the shooting of Fortuyn, who was praised by environmental groups for his policies.

Fortuyn had taken Dutch politics by storm with an anti-immigration stance that had seen his newly-formed party win 35 percent of the vote in Rotterdam local elections.

He was predicted to secure around 15 percent in the May 15 general election -- which would translate into about 25 parliamentary seats.

Van der Graaf was arrested shortly after Fortuyn was gunned down in a car park on Monday.

Prosecution spokesman Robert Muellenbroek told Reuters: "The suspect has been charged with murder and illegal possession of firearms."

Although Fortuyn's views were abhorred by many, his killing has equally outraged the Netherlands.

His body will lie in a cathedral on Thursday for public viewing, the Dutch Catholic church said on Wednesday.

Funerals of even high officials in the Netherlands are often private affairs, but the family of the flamboyantly gay Fortuyn, who held no public office, requested the unusual arrangements in Rotterdam cathedral.

"This (viewing of the body) is unique here in Holland, it's not usual. The family asked for it," church spokesman Peter van Zoest told Reuters news agency.

The last time a body lay in state in the Netherlands was in 1962 when Queen Wilhelmina died. There are rarely special funeral arrangements for high public officials.

The cathedral in Rotterdam -- Fortuyn's home city -- will also host his funeral on Friday after a procession that winds through the city's streets.

After the church ceremony, Fortuyn's coffin will be taken to the family grave at an undisclosed location in the Netherlands, but that burial is expected to be temporary.

An Italian friend of Fortuyn said a second funeral is to be held in northeast Italy, where the body will be buried, Reuters said.

Mourners have laid wreaths at the spot where he was shot, outside a radio station at Hilversum, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south-east of Amsterdam, and have queued to sign a book of condolence at his home in Rotterdam

Rotterdam mayor Ivo Opstelten led an estimated 15,000 people in a silent march through the city on Tuesday evening, as Fortuyn supporters and opponents gathered to wave banners and Dutch flags.

"I'm no supporter of Pim Fortuyn, but I think everybody should have the right to speak," marcher Jan Knierien, 37, director of an Internet company, told Reuters news agency.

Politicians have condemned the killing but have decided to press ahead with the general election with Prime Minister Wim Kok calling the vote an "important signal that democracy functions and continues to function."

CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said Fortuyn's party would want the election to go ahead as soon as possible to take advantage of an expected sympathy vote.

But he questioned how long the party, which only emerged earlier this year, would survive without Fortuyn.