Forced to pay 'war tax':

Dutch Tamils held in LTTE stranglehold

*Large sums of money exhorted

*Court bares details

Tamils in the Netherlands have been forced to donate money to the LTTE, sources said.

Dutch court authorities say the Tigers held these people in 'a stranglehold', forcing them to pay a 'war tax'. The investigation has been going on for two years. Several people have been arrested, including the alleged leader of the Dutch branch of the Tigers.

Court documents, published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, say that the Tigers systematically extorted large sums of money from Dutch Tamils. If they refused, they were threatened with reprisals.

Tens of thousands of Tamils live in the Netherlands. The Tigers have been listed as a terrorist organisation in EU-countries such as the Netherlands since 2006.

The Netherlands is not the first European country where Tamils have been arrested for money laundering and extortion. Last year, Tamils in Switzerland and the UK were arrested for the same reason. While the Dutch Tamils are still awaiting trial, in the UK and Switzerland several people have already been convicted.

Radio Netherlands