Dutch criminal convicted of ordering murder of Iranian

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – An Amsterdam court has convicted a 38-year-old career criminal of organizing the murder of an Iranian who lived in the Netherlands, but says the motive for the killing remains unclear.

The victim, Iranian-born Ali Motamed, was gunned down outside his home by two hit men on Dec. 15, 2015. The shooters were convicted earlier this year and on Thursday a man identified as Naoufal F. was sentenced to life for arranging the hit.

In January, the Dutch government said it considered it “probable that Iran had a hand” in the killing of Motamed and another one in The Hague in 2017.

However Amsterdam District Court said it couldn’t establish a link with Iran because the convicted man “did not want to clarify” the motive.