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A man accused of a tram shooting which left four dead had a terrorist motive, a court has heard.

Dutch prosecutors said they have a “strong indication” about Gokmen Tanis’ motives when he allegedly opened fire on a tram in the central city of Utrecht in March.

In a written statement following a preliminary hearing at Utrecht District Court, prosecutors said the 37-year-old left a handwritten letter in a getaway car that said in Dutch: "I'm doing this for my religion, you kill Muslims and you want to take our religion away from us, but you won't succeed. Allah is great."

Prosecutors added their suspicions of a terrorist motive also stems from two statements Tanis gave to investigators before refusing to answer any further questions, and from the fact that he opened fire on people he did not know in a tram.

They did not elaborate on the nature of the statements.

Tanis, a Utrecht resident of Turkish descent, was arrested hours after the March 18 shooting and is being held on charges including multiple murder or manslaughter with terrorist intent for the deaths of three men and a woman.

Two other people were seriously injured.

Prosecutors said in March that Tanis had confessed to the attack and said he acted alone.

He will shortly be admitted to a specialist centre to undergo psychological tests, prosecutors said.

Dutch media reported that the father of one of his victims shouted insults at Tanis as he was led, handcuffed, from the courtroom at the end of Monday's brief hearing.

The trial continues.