Prosecutors: Prison for man who firebombed Turkish consulate

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch prosecutors have demanded a 20-month prison sentence for a man who threw home-made firebombs at the Turkish consulate in Amsterdam, saying he wanted to draw attention to the “Kurdish question.”

Prosecutors said Thursday that the 35-year-old was waving a knife when police arrested him near the consulate on Amsterdam’s Museum Square on Aug. 11. One of the devices caused a small blaze in the grounds of the diplomatic post.

The prosecution statement says the man admitted throwing the firebombs “and said he was struggling for the Kurds.”

For decades, Kurdish politics have hinged on dreams of an independent Kurdish state. After World War I, the Kurds, who now number around 30 million, were divided among Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.

Judges are to deliver their verdict Feb. 14.