The Geert Wilders' trial is as good as over. The public prosecutor has called for the populist politician to be acquitted of all charges. The trial will continue, but everything is now an anti-climax.
During two days of intricately-constructed arguments, the prosecutors told the court they found no evidence that Mr Wilders had broken the law.
Acquittal
"We request acquittal on fact 2... we request acquittal on fact 3." Statement after statement, and charge after charge, prosecutors Birgit van Roessel and Paul Velleman, who took turns reading the arguments, said Mr Wilders had not broken the law.
The prosecutors consistently came to the same conclusion. What Mr Wilders said may be "hurtful to Muslims and may be met with emotional responses" but he did not break the law.
The prosecutors analysed each of Geert Wilders' statements for each of the five charges against him. The charges included group defamation, inciting hatred of Muslims and non-western ethnic minorities, and inciting discrimination of Muslims and non-western ethnic minorities.
Few precedents
The prosecutors based their arguments on a few basic principles. In the first place, there is little jurisprudence in Dutch law to fall back on, particularly in the cases of incitement. The jurisprudence on the European level is somewhat broader, including recent cases decided by the European Court of Human Rights against Jean Marie le Pen in France, and Daniel Féret in Belgium. The lawyers cited both cases, as well as a few cases in Dutch courts.
In addition, prosecutors maintained a very close, cautious reading of the law. Statements must meet very specific criteria to be considered incitement. This is particularly true in the case of a politician taking part in a national debate.
Against Islam, not Muslims
For Geert Wilders' comments to have been illegal, they had to target a specific group, and be aimed at creating an intrinsic division between two groups.
But Ms van Roessel and Mr Velleman said Mr Wilders' statements were not directed toward Muslims as people, but towards Islam. For example, "stop the tsunami of Islamisation" and "the Qur'an is the Muslim Mein Kampf" are clearly directed at Islam. Mr Wilders' film Fitna falls into the same category.
But prosecutors said this was true even for statements such as saying a neighbourhood of Utrecht is now a "dirty, filthy place because 95 percent of the people who live there now are Muslim" or " there is a connection between Islam and crime. These thugs' behaviour stems from their belief."
These comments were also seen as part of Mr Wilders' campaign against Islam, not against Muslims.
Democratic
Another qualifying factor factor in the case was that his comments were part of a broader social debate, and were part of a political programme that would get implemented in a democratic manner. The nature of the programme itself is irrelevant, as are his motivations for saying or writing what he did.
The fact that some of his programme will now be implemented by the new government, supported by Mr Wilders' party in parliament, was not even mentioned in court.
Mr Wilders remained stony-faced even while the prosecutors were letting him off the hook, just 24 hours after the cabinet he made possible posed with the Queen. He can allow himself a smile.
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Gefelisiteerd Geert I wish we had someone like you here and stop this take over of our way of live. Our politicians dont same to care.Bcause they vote for the party in power
As someone who comes from the land with the second largest population of Muslims, I can still testify that Islam is evil and Muslims who are moderate find it very uncomfortable to answer questions such as a) Why did the prophet marry a 6 yr old and consummate his marriage with a 9-yr. old? b) why does the Koran call Jews apes, monkeys c) why is it ok to convert to Islam but if a Muslim converts to something else he is hounded/ branded as an infidel and often killed?
I tend to go with the opinion of the people here who say that Islam is bad and some Muslims who are not very good at following Islam are good.
Geert Wilders fight will save us all from this horrible, evil religion that wants to strangle any society by gradually getting immersed in it. It has happened in Indonesia, Sudan and many other places when they allowed Muslims to immigrate and practice their "faith" believing they would keep it to themselves. Little did they know that as their numbers grew, the whole country would soon be under the dominion of this evil religion. Our politicians are blind and stupid, with no insight into other cultures at all. Where it not for Geert Wilders, our future would be in grave danger.
I am thankful to God for those with guts like you where would we be without you. my prayers will always be with you. PLEASE come to Canada and speak all over this nation from east to west I'll be sitting in the front row every time!
Why they call it religion, because there is nothing spiritual in it, the ultimate goal is sex with 72 virgins,boys like pearls and wine.
There is no love for creation of god, no any thing about true knowledge, In Hinduism their religious books says that "Sex,eating and fear is common in human beings and animals if some one satisfied with this he is not above from an animal", really what is difference? they claim islam is more developed religion then others? and mohammed is super human modal, in what sense?
The imagination of god, he name it Allah, is lowest reflection of criminal and undeveloped tinny mind of mohammed,It is not more than a TOUT who supply fresh women flesh, wine and gays to his lustful Follower as a reward, who blindly follow him and do all evil things to please him, What a crime against god? What a poor thinking of a poor mind.
Human identity which is being swallowed up by Islam.
This is the reason-
Why they always look like a goat or like butcher, all cruelty on their face with their particular shape of moustache? Why in every part of world they kip same goatee style moustache? for goats or other animals it is natural because they have no individual personalty, how it happens in humans. I always wonder.
Have Mr Wilder written this? If he,you must hang him for spreading hate, No courage? Mr Wilder is soft target for juridical system of Netherlans? -
“Muslims are the vilest of animals…”
“Show mercy to one another, but be ruthless to Muslims”
“How perverse are Muslims!”
“Strike off the heads of Muslims, as well as their fingertips”
“Fight those Muslims who are near to you”
“Muslim mischief makers should be murdered or crucified”
Poorly written comment. You forgot to add that the quotes you are posting are Islamic quotes about non-Muslims - converted the other way around.
WE LOVE YOU GEERT ! Please keep telling the truth, we are tired of the hate and violence of the muslims, who kill anyone who threatens them while lame duck governments behave as abused wives, telling everyone to just be nicer to them and THEN they will stop the abuse. HA!! it doesnt work for the wives and it certainly doesn't work with muslims. They see kindness as a weakness, didn't you know? What I don't understand is the fact that they are plainly stating their intentions...they will take over, they will subject us to sharia law, they hate us, our lives have no meaning; and yet nonmuslims still defend them, as if this is not true, and 'i know this muslim guy and he's okay, so you must be wrong'-- I'll bet the christians in Cypriot who were killed by their own turkish next door neighbors in the 1970's were taken by surprise as well. When people they had grown up with killed their children and stole all their belongings, because they were Christian and muslim turkey was invading. You better get your heads straight or bend over for sharia law.
another step in the continuing Dutch road to mindlessness.
alanposting,
How, his steps are not toward Islam.
Good for you Geert Wilders!! You are a true hero and warrior of God!
Geert Wilders is my hero!
Thanks to him, others are standing up for our democratic western values.
Every country in Europe has it's own identity, an identity which is being swallowed up by Islam.
I am afraid that war is coming to Europe, but I pray that people like Wilders will awaken people in time; before it comes down to that.
Bravo Mr. Wilders!
This whole trial should never have happened. Why should people be treated like criminals for speaking the truth. Shame! Shame! Shame! Good for Geert Wilders for having the guts to speak up. What is wrong with the rest of the Leaders?
Geert,
Als wij buren waren, zou goede vriendschap tussen ons niet uitgesloten zijn.
Henk
Hartelijk bedankt Geert ! Thank You ! You are a brave man .
Hartelijk bedankt Geert ! Thank You ! You are a brave man .
Now that Geert is "off the hook", what exactly is he getting into? How heartwarming it is to see so many hero's welcomes for someone who "spoke out", yet didn't say a single word in defence of what he said in a court of law! The one place where the right and content of his remarks needed to be examined and justified by the law of the land. A back door exit of fully standing for what Geert portends to believe in.
could we have that in understandable english please?
could we have that in understandable english please?
Geert Wilder is given no honor in the United States television media. His wise and rational thinking, based on the Koran's tenets commanding world subjugation to Sharia law (whose history is responsible for the murder of an estimated 250 million people) explains why peace loving Muslims hold no rallies, no protests, no rebuke of those who advocate detonating a nuclear warhead in any land of the so-called infidels. What I find most noteworthy are the civil wars taking place within Islam. With this factual basis, even if they succeeded in Mohammed's grand plan of world subjugation [according to the visions given by the counterfeit-angel Gabriel (whose words and deeds stand diametrically opposed to the words and works of the heavenly Gabriel of the Bible)] they would still kill each other off until only the most ruthless were left. This is the base character of these men!
While there are tens of thousands of Peace Loving Muslims they will never have a voice of authority. In the public arena we hear no Muslim voice to denounce the militants in free speech countries. No great gatherings or protests. Why? The Koran is explicitly clear, from Surah 9:5 to a hundred other texts, that Islam demands the sole subjugation of the world's peoples to Sharia law. The command is too often repeated in the Koran to misunderstand: domination over all and destruction to all who stand in their way. This alone explains the treatment of Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists within Muslim ruled nations. Now, in stark contrast to the teachings of the Koran, the reformation of Christianity came when the Bible was allowed to be given to the common man (against the popes wishes of course) and through that renaissance Christ's freedom came to Europe. And the US owes its Constitutional freedoms to this reformation. But no reformation can come from the Koran. Its doctrine is demonically cruel and stands in open violation against GOD’S Ten Commandments: the Only Law where we are safe in one another's care: the Only Law where Utopia may be found.
i totally agree and would add muslims need the freedom to either change their religion or join one that demonstrates the true love of god,so why try and reinvent the wheel? this could be another reformation!
This ruling shows the best and worst of Holland. A legal system that is reasonable, an affinity for freedom of speech, and a loudmouthed goon, who goes unpunished for his vilification of blameless members of Dutch society.
Congrats to Mr Wilders
Thank you Mr. Geert Wilders, you are our hero. I hope there will be more politicians like you in every Western country.
islam is fascist, violent, pedophilic, pro-slavery. It is a right and a duty to criticize and fight such an ideology.
terrorism is a tool, islam is the ideology behind that tool.
BRAVO! Finally, they have come to their senses. Let's hope Canada follows suit because we have a bad situation here with no employment for ourselves, forget newcomers. Also, our immigration should not receive cultures that are incompatible with our own.
A Canadian who supports Wilders, wow!
Hooray for Mr Wilders.He spoke the truth.The Religion of Peace? Geez,How about all the Murders,Rapes,
stealing,lying.Whoops! that dosen't count if its infidels,or the other muslim minority.
Congratulations to Geert and his lawyer, modern-day heroes.
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