THE HAGUE - The appeal court in Amsterdam must decide whether the State may ignore protests from neighbours if it shelters politicians under death threats in accommodation near them. The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a verdict by the appeal court in The Hague regarding Ayaan Hirsi Ali's protection.

Due to serious death threats by Muslims, the State in 2005 placed the then conservative (VVD) MP Hirsi Ali in an extra-secure apartment in The Hague. Neighbours who feared an attack on the building demanded that Hirsi Ali leave there. The district court in The Hague found against the neighbours, but they won the case on appeal.

The appeal court in The Hague ruled that the politician must leave her guarded apartment because there was no legal basis for accommodating threatened persons. The then Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner went to the Supreme Court, which ruled Friday that the case must be re-opened.

According to the Supreme Court, the appeal court in The Hague insufficiently addressed the interests of the State, which has the obligation of protecting certain persons. Another appeal court, that in Amsterdam, must now produce a new verdict.

Hirsi Ali made the short film Submission with filmmaker Theo van Gogh. Two months after the film on the position of women in Islam was shown, Van Gogh was assassinated by Islam terrorist Mohammed Bouyeri. On the body, he left a written death threat aimed at Hirsi Ali.

In September, Hirsi Ali moved to Washington, where she works for the American Enterprise Institute. According to the National Anti-terrorism Coordinator (NCTb), the apartment in The Hague remains available for other people who need protection.