Ex-Pakistan cricketer Khalid Latif sentenced 12 years jail for Murder threat of Dutch Politician

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Former Pakistani cricketer Khalid Latif has been sentenced to a 12-year prison term by a Dutch court, following his trial in absentia where he was judged for inciting the public to assassinate a Dutch far-right extremist leader, Geert Wilders.

The ruling on Monday determined that 37-year-old Latif's statements, made in Pakistan where he currently resides and was thus absent throughout the trial and during any detentions in the Netherlands, constituted a solicitation for murder, insurrection, and threat.

Prosecutors reported that in 2018, Latif uploaded a video proposing a bounty for Wilders' homicide. This came as a response to Wilders' announcement about his plans to stage a contest for cartoon illustrations of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad.

However, the competition was eventually called off. Within Islam, any depiction of Prophet Mohammad is strictly prohibited as it's seen as idol worship.

This is not the first instance where Latif has found himself on the wrong side of the law. The former Pakistan player was banned from cricket for five years in 2017 for an alleged spot-fixing scandal.

The 37-year-old has played 5 ODIs and 13 T20Is in his career for Pakistan, scoring 147 and 237 runs respectively in those formats. He also captained Pakistan in the 2010 Asian Games.