BRUSSELS, July 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A court in Amsterdam sentenced on Tuesday Mohammed Bouyeri to life imprisonment for the murder of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, Radio Netherlands reported on Tuesday.

    The judge ruled that it had been proved that Bouyeri's actions were intended to destabilize the Dutch society. He said Bouyeri was probably a member of a terrorist cell, the Hofstad group, but that there was no evidence pointing to the involvement of other Muslim extremists.

    Theo van Gogh was killed in broad daylight in his hometown of Amsterdam on Nov. 2 last year, and a note, threatening congresswoman Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was pinned to his body with a knife.The congresswoman was involved in the production of Van Gogh's film Submission which many Muslims regard as insulting Islam.

    The inhuman killing ignited a widespread anti-immigration mood in the Netherlands, indirectly leading to a "no" to the European Union (EU) Constitution in a referendum on June 2 this year.

    Bouyeri was also found guilty of the attempted murder of several police officers and two passersby and of hindering congresswoman Ayaan Hirsi Ali in carrying out her political duties.

    The public prosecutor had demanded a life sentence. Enditem