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Trial of Geert Wilders

The trial of Geert Wilders, a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, took place in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. Wilders was accused of criminally insulting religious and ethnic groups and inciting hatred and discrimination. He was found not guilty in June 2011.[1]

The leader of the Party for Freedom, Wilders has been the source of great controversy in the Netherlands and abroad for his criticism of Islam and what he describes as the Islamization of the Netherlands. At his trial, he faced five counts of criminal offenses. The first charge was of criminally insulting Muslims because of their religion. The remaining four charges pertained to incitement of hatred and discrimination of Muslims, Moroccans, and other non-Western immigrants because of their race or ethnicity. These charges stemmed from articles Wilders had written between 2006 and 2008, as well as his short film Fitna. These statements included a call for a ban on the Quran,[2][3] warnings against an "Islamic invasion,"[4] and a "tsunami of Islamization."[5] He also labeled Islam a fascist religion, described Dutch-Moroccan youths as violent, and compared the Quran with Hitler's Mein Kampf.[6] He has also referred to Mohammed as "the devil."[7][8]

The judges in the first trial were removed due to perceived bias against Wilders,[9] so a retrial began in February 2011. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service, after initially refusing to prosecute Wilders because it did not consider his statements illegal, was ordered by a court of appeal to prosecute him nonetheless. During the process, they argued that Wilders should be acquitted on all counts.[10]

On 23 June 2011, Wilders was acquitted of all charges, with Judge Marcel van Oosten noting that his statements, although "gross and denigrating," had not given rise to hatred against Muslims, and as such were "acceptable within the context of public debate."[11] Van Oosten also said, however, that Wilders's statements were on the edge of legal acceptability.[12]

  1. ^ Hinke, Bart (23 June 2011). "Wilders op alle punten vrijgesproken". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Wilders: verbied de Koran, ook in moskee". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  3. ^ Wilders, Geert (8 August 2007). "Genoeg is genoeg: verbied de Koran". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Mohammed deel II: de islamitische invasie". Party for Freedom. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Wilders bang voor 'tsunami van islamisering'". de Volkskrant. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  6. ^ den Boer, Nicolien (8 January 2007). "'Qur'an should be banned' – Wilders strikes again". Radio Netherlands. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  7. ^ Cunningham, Benjamin (25 November 2009). "Islam opponent to visit Prague". The Prague Post. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  8. ^ "De profeet Mohammed is een enge duivel". Het Nieuwsblad. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Judges told to step down in Wilders trial". BBC. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Public Prosecution Service requests acquittal for all counts in Wilders case". Openbaar Ministerie. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Geert Wilders cleared of hate charges by Dutch court". BBC News. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Wilders found not guilty of inciting hatred, but is 'on the edge'". DutchNews.nl. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.

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