LESE MAJESTE, WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES USING IT
The archaic law to protect the monarchy is rarely used in Holland, but one outspoken anti-racism activist seems to have pushed too far
The Netherlands has long been celebrated for its liberalism, but an anti-racism activist appears to have run up against the limits of Dutch tolerance after cursing the country’s first king in 120 years. Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday that the activist, Abulkasim al-Jaberi, would go on trial on charges of insulting the king, under a centuries-old law in a case that is connected to broader national issues, including freedom of expression, the sanctity of the monarchy and the culture war over a blackface character, Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, a sidekick of Santa Claus in the Netherlands.
Mr al-Jaberi, who could face up to five years in prison, was arrested on Nov 16, while he was protesting against Black Pete, he says. Black Pete accompanies St Nicholas in a popular parade in November and is often portrayed by children and adults who put on black face make-up, paint on large red lips and wear frizzy black wigs. Critics say it is a racist relic from colonial times.
In a tirade that was captured on television, Mr al-Jaberi used a barrage of swear words against King Willem-Alexander, who was inaugurated a little more than two years ago. Mr al-Jaberi’s lawyer, Willem Jebbink, said the tirade was intended to link Black Pete to the Dutch royal family and colonisation.
Supporters of Black Pete, and there are many in the Netherlands, contend that the character is not racist and that use of a black face is intended to represent soot from travelling down a chimney.
Evert Boerstra, a spokesman for the Amsterdam prosecutor’s office, said Mr al-Jaberi had been charged with deliberately insulting the king, and he would appear in court May 27.
He said Mr al-Jaberi was being tried because he had failed to pay a fine of €500 (about 18,800 baht), related to the original offence.
“We don’t make the laws; we just enforce them,” he said, noting that prosecutions under lese majeste laws, dating from 1886, were very rare.
Under the law of lese majeste in the Netherlands, a person who is found to have purposely insulted the king or a member of the royal household can be subject to a fine of as much as €20,000 or as many as five years in jail.
Although human rights groups have condemned the use of lese majeste in countries including Thailand as a pretext to silence criticism or dissent, the application of the law in the Netherlands is viewed as surprising in a country that prides itself on its liberalism.
Some critics, not least Mr Jebbink, argue that the law is an anachronism that breaches European laws guaranteeing freedom of speech and expression.
“The police removed him from the stage and arrested him,” Mr Jebbink said. “The Netherlands likes to say it upholds human rights to the highest standards, but his arrest is a shame and disgrace.”
Peter Bouckaert, a director at Human Rights Watch, said the prosecution had surprised him and was a source of concern.
“This case represents a clash between the liberal outlook of Dutch society and an antiquated law that I am sure the king doesn’t think is necessary to protect his stature in Dutch society,” he said.
“Profane behaviour should not be criminalised. Blackface marches are seen as racist by many people of colour, and that must be addressed. But freedom of speech needs to be protected.”
The mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, who burst into laughter when he learned of the case, said he did not believe that Mr al-Jaberi’s words warranted prosecution, let alone prison, according to Het Parool, an Amsterdam-based newspaper.
Although he was sceptical of Mr al-Jaberi’s contention that he had suffered intensely from the arrest, he also suggested that the king might not approve of the prosecution.
“I know the king a bit, and I think he sees this more democratically than what the law suggests,” he was quoted as saying by Het Parool.
The case has revived a debate about Black Pete, a polarising character. In July 2013, an Amsterdam district court agreed with findings by a UN advisory committee that Black Pete’s appearance was offensive, but the decision was overruled by a superior court in The Hague.
Addressing concerns over the character, Mr van der Laan suggested last year that Black Pete could gradually become Sooty Pete, and would change in appearance over the coming years to make him eventually look more like someone who had braved a chimney rather than an outmoded stereotype of an African.
The Netherlands is not the only European country to prosecute those who insult a monarch. In 2007, two cartoonists in Spain were each fined €3,000 for publishing a cartoon in the magazine El Jueves of then-Crown Prince Felipe engaged in a sexual act with his wife. The cartoon showed the prince saying: “Do you realise, if you get pregnant this will be the closest thing I’ve done to work in my whole life.”