Dutch police arrest Ethiopian consul in bomb probe

AMSTERDAM, May 26 (Reuters) – Police briefly arrested the Ethiopian consul, thinking he was a terrorist who wanted to blow up a prominent politician, Dutch officials said on Thursday.

Police in The Hague said they had received an anonymous call on Wednesday warning that a man walking near parliament had a bomb and wanted to kill Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a lawmaker who has received numerous death threats for her criticism of Islam.

The Ethiopian consul was stopped when officers checked the identity of people walking near the buildings, a police spokesman said.

“He refused to show his ID. Police asked him whether he was carrying a bomb and he said ‘Yes, I have a bomb in my backpack.’ So he was arrested,” the spokesman said.

“Later we found out that he is the Ethiopian consul and was not a suspected terrorist. We released him,” the spokesman said.

Dutch news agency ANP quoted the consul, whom it identified as T. Demeke Abebe, as saying he wanted an official apology from the Foreign Ministry.

“I was pressed with my face against the asphalt. I have wounds and several bruises … I see this as a scandal,” he said.

The Ethiopian consulate was not available to comment.

Security at Dutch government buildings was increased after the murder last November of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who upset many Muslims with his outspoken views on Islam. Some lawmakers received death threats following his killing.

Hirsi Ali and another parliamentarian critical of radical Islam, Geert Wilders, went into hiding after the murder, but both returned to work earlier this year amid heavy security.