A Pakistani religious leader is tried in his absence for allegedly threatening Geert Wilders

SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — Prosecutors demanded a 14-year sentence Monday for a Pakistani Muslim leader accused of inciting the murder of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, the leader of the party that won last year's general election in the Netherlands.

Muhammad Ashraf Asif Jalali did not appear for trial at a closely guarded courtroom near Amsterdam as prosecutors accused him of abusing his position as a religious leader to call on followers to hang or behead Wilders.

In a second case, prosecutors sought a six-year sentence against a second Pakistani man, Saad Rizvi, who leads the radical Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, or TLP, for incitement or threatening a terrorist crime against Wilders. Rizvi also did not show up for his trial.

Neither of the men is believed to be in the country, and Pakistan has no extradition agreement with the Netherlands. Prosecutors said in a statement that requests they sent to Pakistani authorities seeking legal assistance to serve subpoenas on the two men were not executed.

They are the latest Dutch trials for Muslims who have threatened Wilders' life, forcing him to live under around-the-clock police protection for nearly 20 years because of his outspoken criticism of Islam.

Last year, a former Pakistani cricketer, Khalid Latif, was sentenced to 12 years in prison over allegations that he had offered a reward for the death of Wilders. Latif also did not appear for trial. In 2019, a Pakistani man was arrested in the Netherlands, convicted and sentenced to 10 years for preparing a terrorist attack on Wilders, who is sometimes called the Dutch Donald Trump.

In a statement to the court, Wilders told judges of the impact of the threats on his life, that has been lived under intense security since 2004. Two armed military police sat in court throughout the brief trial.

“Every day you get up and leave for work in armored cars, often with sirens on, and you are always aware somewhere in the back of your mind that this could be your last day,” Wilders told the court.

“I'm 60 now, I haven't been free since I was 40,” he added.

While Jalali and Rizvi are not likely to ever serve a sentence if convicted, Wilders said he hoped the case would send a message to him and the world that issuing death threats would not be accepted.

A prosecutor, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told judges in the Dutch court that threats began to be aired on social media after Wilders' announcement that he was organizing a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2018. The planned contest sparked angry protests in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world in 2018.

Physical depictions of the prophet are forbidden in Islam and deeply offensive to Muslims.

In Pakistan, Rizvi’s TLP denounced the Dutch case, saying that instead of trying the two clerics the court should have sentenced Wilders.

“Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan puts this question to the Dutch court: Whether it was not Geert Wilders who should have been punished for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad,” TLP said in a statement.

“It is not freedom of expression. This is called Islamophobia, which is being done with a plan,” the party said.

TLP gained prominence after campaigning on the single issue of defending the country’s blasphemy law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam.

Wilders, who canceled the cartoon competition after angry reactions in Muslim nations, told the three-judge panel he has paid a high price for his actions, which he cast as defending freedom of expression.

Wilders' comments in the past have also fallen foul of Dutch law. An appeals court in 2020 upheld his conviction for insulting Moroccans in an election speech in 2014. He was not given a punishment, with a judge saying that Wilders had already “paid a high price for expressing his opinion,” a reference to the tight security the lawmaker lives under.

Verdicts in both trials were scheduled for Sept. 9.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, is seated at the high security court at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, where two Pakistani men go on trial, likely in their absence, on charges of threatening anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won national elections last year. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, is seated at the high security court at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, where two Pakistani men go on trial, likely in their absence, on charges of threatening anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won national elections last year. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders takes his seat at the high security court at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, where two Pakistani men go on trial, likely in their absence, on charges of threatening anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won national elections last year. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, surrounded by his security detail, arrives at the high security court at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, where two Pakistani men go on trial, likely in their absence, on charges of threatening anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won national elections last year. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, takes his seat at the high security court at Schiphol, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, where two Pakistani men go on trial, likely in their absence, on charges of threatening anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won national elections last year. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Sphere, Las Vegas' transformational new masterpiece, stole the show Saturday night at UFC 306, but Merab Dvalishvili put on a performance not to be forgotten in capturing the bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision over Sean O'Malley.

The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili (18-4), a 33-year-old from the country of Georgia. He used a ground-and-pound attack to control most of the action against O'Malley (18-2).

O'Malley, 29, who lives in Phoenix, was a slight -125 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.

Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed the women's flyweight championship with all three judges awarding her a 50-45 victory over Alexa Grasso in the co-main event.

This was the third consecutive meeting between the two after Grasso took Shevchenko's belt in the first match. The second was a draw.

The third one wasn't closer, with the 36-year-old Shevchenko (24-4-1) using a ground-and-pound strategy to win all three rounds over 31-year-old Grasso (16-4-1) on the judges' cards.

“It's so huge," said Shevchenko, who is from Kyrgyzstan. "It like a dream come true fighting in the Sphere.”

This show at the Sphere was unlike any show in the UFC's history, taking full advantage of the 160,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen to create an outer-space type feel as the pay-per-view portion of the card was about to begin.

UFC President Dana White called this card his “love letter to Mexico,” and mini stories of the neighboring country's history and culture as part of a celebration of the country’s Independence Day weekend were told on the screen throughout the evening. One created the illusion the arena was moving as the video played out.

Seven Mexican fighters, including Grasso, populated the card, and chants from the crowd of “Mexico” broke out several times.

Aztec pyramids seeming to hover over one contest in the octagon changed from night to morning. Another fight took place with a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday scene that included dressed up male and female skeletons lighting up the screen. Other matches had similar scenes dominating the background.

The screen was used throughout to introduce a tell-of-the-tape of each fighter, and highlights were shown on the building's exterior.

White has said this is a one-and-done given the overwhelming undertaking to put together the show as well as the roughly $20 million cost. To help pay for it, White secured a title sponsor for the first time for one of his PPV cards, making the official name Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

But White has waffled as the event approached, and it's possible the UFC will have future cards at the Sphere, those the organization is contractually obligated to MGM Resorts, which includes T-Mobile Arena. An exception was made for this night and perhaps there will be more.

T-Mobile had its own tribute to Mexican Independence Day three miles away with Canelo Alvarez winning by unanimous decision as the headline fighter.

UFC's in-house production team crew worked with Antigravity Academy production led by founder and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada to put together this event.

Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, considered by many to be the greatest fighter in UFC history, will face Stipe Miocic in UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Jones has not fought since moving up from light heavyweight to claim the heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane on March 4, 2023.

Jones, who was in the crowd wearing a black cowboy hat, and Miocic were scheduled to fight last year, but a pectoral injury forced Jones to postpone.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Attendees watch Yazmin Jauregui fights Ketlen Souza in a women's strawweight mixed martial arts bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Attendees wait for the main mixed martial arts event during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko, right, fights Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili appear on screen during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)