Dutch firebrand MP found guilty of discrimination

SCHIPHOL, Netherlands:

Populist anti-Islam Dutch MP Geert Wilders was found guilty yesterday of discrimination against Moroccans, but acquitted of hate speech in a closely-watched trial ahead of next year’s key election.

But the judges decided not to impose any sentence or fine, and Wilders immediately vowed to appeal against what he said was a bid to “neutralise” him ahead of the March polls. “I will never be silent. You will not be able to stop me,” he vowed in a video message sent swiftly after the verdict was handed down. Wilders, whose Freedom Party (PVV) is eying an upset victory in the March 2017 polls, was charged with two counts arising out of comments he made in 2014 around local elections. After a three-week trial which Wilders had largely snubbed, the three judges ruled “the inflammatory character of the way in which the statements were made have incited others to discriminate people of Moroccan origin.”

But they added there was “insufficient evidence” his words amounted to incitement to hatred. The judges also dismissed the prosecution’s request to impose a 5,000-euro ($5,300) fine. “In this case, the most important question is whether Wilders has crossed a line. This judgement has answered that question,” the judges said in their verdict. “Therewith, the chamber finds that justice has been done. Consequently, no punishment is imposed.” The most recent opinion polls predict the PVV will top the March vote, saying it could seize 34 spots in the 150seat lower house of Dutch parliament, some 10 ahead of his nearest rival, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals. Rather than hurting the controversial lawmaker, observers say his trial has boosted his popularity among Dutch voters, worried about the influx of immigrants and driven by eurosceptic sentiments.

Amid a string of populist victories in Europe and the November election of Donald Trump as the next US president, the outcome of the Dutch vote will be keenly watched.

‘Fewer Moroccans’

The trial had focused in particular on a statement made at a 2014 local government election rally in The Hague, when he asked supporters whether they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands”. When the crowd shouted back “Fewer! Fewer!” a smiling Wilders answered:

“We’re going to organise that.” Prosecutors said they were satisfied with the verdict. “For us it was important that we set a norm, namely that a politician cannot discriminate against a group based on their origin.

This principle and setting the norm was more important than the fine,” prosecutor Frans Zonneveld told AFP. The police had received 6,400 complaints about Wilders’s comments. He “singled out an entire group of citizens without making any distinction,” the judges ruled.

“This group has less rights to reside in the Netherlands. Therewith, this statement can be regarded as affecting the dignity of this group as a whole. It is insulting for the entire group.” But after the judgement, Wilders said in a tweet: “Three PVV-hating judges declare Moroccans to be a race and convict me and half of the Netherlands. Madness.”

And in a video message, posted to YouTube, he added: “Today I was convicted in a political trial, which shortly before the elections attempts to neutralise the leader of the largest and most popular opposition party.”

Outside the courthouse, a Wilders supporter who asked not to be named told AFP: “I’m not worried... He will win on appeal.”

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis however had harsh words for the platinum-blond haired Wilders saying his disparaging comments about judges and the judiciary in The Netherlands “are unworthy of an elected politician.”

If elected as the lowlands country’s new prime minister, Wilders has among other things vowed to confiscate Korans, close mosques and Islamic schools, shut Dutch borders and ban migrants from Islamic countries.

His views have seen him receive death threats including from terror groups such as the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda. He is guarded at all times and called the “best protected man in The Netherlands”. — AFP