The public prosecutor in Rotterdam has demanded a 60 day jail term or 120 hours of community service for a Dutch rapper who threatened anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders. The Freedom Party leader was present as a witness in the heavily guarded courtroom.

According to the prosecutor, the rapper who goes by the name of Mo$heb threatened Mr Wilders in the text of his rap Who is Next (Wie Iz De Volgende). In the track which is on the web Mo$heb says it will be "bam, bam" if he should happen to run into Mr Wilders.

Gunned down
The rapper recalls that filmer and Islam critic Theo van Gogh, and anti-immigration nationalist politician Pim Fortuyn "were gunned down", and he is warning Mr Wilders that he may be next if he persists in his policies. Mr Mo$heb denied in court that he treatened Geert Wilders, pointing to his next line in the rap: it won't be him who kills Mr Wilders, because a true Muslim wouldn't hurt a fly.

Mo$heb said in court that he feels threatened by Mr Wilders, who responded by saying "I can't imagine you feel like that. If you disagree with me, use democratic means to protest, like writing a letter to the newspapers. I find it hard to understand threats against me."

The offending rap was posted on YouTube in February, labelled as a "Geert Wilders diss".

• A film defending Mo$heb and showing how Muslims are treated around the world was posted on YouTube after his arrest (English subtitles).