AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) – The man accused of murdering filmmaker Theo van Gogh dreamed of replacing the Dutch government with an Islamic theocracy, and was supported by a network of like-minded fanatics, prosecutors said Wednesday at the first public hearing in his case.

The suspect, Amsterdam native Mohammed Bouyeri, 26, did not appear at the pretrial hearing, but his lawyer said Bouyeri wants to “be held accountable for his actions” and sees them as part of a religious war.

The new details underscore concerns over homegrown radicals in the Netherlands after the Nov. 2 killing of Van Gogh, who offended many Muslims with his film “Submission,” which criticized the treatment of women under Islam.

“The murder made it clear that terrorism, inspired by an extreme interpretation of Islam, is a reality in our country,” prosecutor Frits van Straelen said.

“From the beginning there were signs that the murder did not come out of the brain of just this suspect, but that there was an organization behind it,” he said.

Bouyeri faces charges of murder, attempted murder, threatening politicians, possession of an illegal firearm and impeding democracy. He could be sentenced to life if convicted.

He and 12 others face separate charges for allegedly plotting to kill politicians and belonging to a terrorist group known as the “Hofstad” network, which prosecutors said provided support for the Van Gogh murder.

Prosecutors said radicals are only a tiny fraction of the Dutch Muslim community, which makes up around 6 percent of the 16 million population.

Judges ordered Bouyeri to undergo psychological examination and said they would schedule a new pretrial hearing within 90 days.

On the basis of statements from 53 eyewitnesses, prosecutors said Bouyeri approached Van Gogh while both were bicycling on a busy street, shot him, chased him across the street, shot him again, then cut his throat nearly to the spinal cord with an enormous kitchen knife before pinning a note to his chest with another knife.

The note, released by the Justice ministry in November, threatened prominent politicians and threatened a holy war against nonbelievers.

Bouyeri twice ignored pleas for mercy from Van Gogh, prosecutors said, and yelled “now you know what’s coming for you” at a bystander who challenged him.

He then went in pursuit of police, shooting one officer who was saved by a bulletproof vest. In all, Bouyeri fired 30 rounds before he was shot in the leg and taken into custody, they said.

“What’s extraordinary is the calmness with which he did this,” Van Straelen said, adding that he believed Bouyeri had practiced extensively. “Several witnessed described how he coolly knelt next to Van Gogh’s body and reloaded his gun.”

Defense lawyer Peter Plasman said that his client had “made it known by his actions that he expected to die Nov. 2.” Bouyeri had a will in his pocket when he was arrested.

Prosecutors said Bouyeri also left documents for his friends and family, including an article that predicted “it not be long before the knights of Allah march into the Hague.”

“Parliament will be remade into a Sharia (Islamic law) court,” the article said.

The evening before the killing two members of the Hofstad group, identified as Ismael A. and Jason W. (Walters), visited Bouyeri, prosecutors said.

Van Straelen said a telephone tap recorded one of them saying after the murder that: “We slaughtered a lamb in the traditional Islamic fashion. From now on, this will be the punishment for anyone in this land who challenges and insults Allah and his messengers.”

The murder of Van Gogh, a distant relative of the artist Vincent van Gogh, set off a spate of mosque burnings and retaliatory arson attempts on churches in a country famed for its tolerance and long history of peaceful debate.