Rachid Belkacem (1973 – July 5, 2006) was a Dutch national, and a suspected member of the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

organisation

Hofstad Network The Hofstad Network (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Hofstadnetwerk'' or ''Hofstadgroep'') was an Islamic terrorism, Islamic terror group composed mostly of Netherlands, Dutch citizens, and mainly young men between the ages of 18 and 32. The name "Hof ...

. He was never convicted in court. His nickname was Abu Fadel, he was a friend of

Mohammed Bouyeri Mohammed Bouyeri ( ; born 8 March 1978) is a Moroccan-Dutch citizen serving a life sentence without parole at the Nieuw Vosseveld prison for the 2004 murder of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh. A member of the Hofstad Network, he was incarc ...

, the murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Belkacem was arrested in

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, London on 22 June 2005 on request of the Dutch authorities. Belkacems name arose in an investigation about

people smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ...

in the Dutch province of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

. He was extradited on 2 August 2005. He was charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. In addition he was charged with recruiting for armed struggle, several firearms offences and forging documents. Belkacem allegedly helped

Redouan al-Issar Redouan al Issar (also known as Abu Khaled or simply "The Syrian") was born in Syria in the late fifties or early sixties. He is by profession a geologist. He was the oldest member of the Dutch-based terrorist group, Hofstadgroep or Hofstad Networ ...

, spiritual leader of the Hofstad Network, flee the Netherlands on the day of the murder of Theo van Gogh. Belkacem was released provisionally in March 2006, because the public prosecutor deemed an eventual conviction for membership of a terrorist organisation highly unlikely. In April he was acquitted of the illegal possession of a firearm. In July 2006, Belkacem was found dead in his house in

Zierikzee Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikze ...

. Friends and family claimed he was poisoned. Police investigated the circumstances of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkacem, Racid Dutch Islamists Islamic terrorism in the Netherlands Hofstad Network Dutch people of Moroccan descent Dutch prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the Netherlands Muslims with branch missing 2006 deaths 1973 births People extradited from the United Kingdom People extradited to the Netherlands People imprisoned on terrorism charges