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Geert Wilders found guilty of inciting discrimination
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| Contributor | IndyGeorgia |
| Last Edited | IndyGeorgia Dec 10, 2016 12:20pm |
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| Category | Legal Ruling |
| Author | Gordon Darroch |
| News Date | Friday, December 9, 2016 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders has been found guilty of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans in a verdict that is expected to intensify the debate about migration in the Netherlands.
A panel of three judges ruled that the Freedom party (PVV) leader’s comments in a post-election speech in 2014 were “demeaning and thereby insulting towards the Moroccan population”. Hendrik Steenhuis, chairman of the judges, said the remarks were clearly aimed at an ethnic population group and delivered in a televised speech for maximum effect.
However, the court cleared Wilders of the charge of inciting hatred and imposed no fine or sentence, ruling that a criminal conviction was sufficient punishment for a politician in Wilders’ position.
Neither Wilders nor his lawyer, Geert-Jan Knoops, were in court to hear Friday’s verdict. Immediately afterwards Wilders issued a press release saying he would appeal and describing the court’s decision as “a great loss for democracy and freedom of expression”.
The verdict comes three months before Dutch voters go to the polls in a general election in which Wilders has vowed to put migration and “Islamisation” at the heart of the campaign. His party’s draft manifesto includes pledges to close every mosque in the Netherlands and ban the Qur’an from public buildings. |
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