Islamophobic Dutch Politician Distracts from Hate-Speech Trial with More Vitriol
The lawmaker, Geert Wilders, whose tirades against Islam, immigration and the European Union have made him one of the most divisive figures in Dutch politics, refused to attend the trial. Instead, he issued a series of inflammatory posts on Twitter, saying the Netherlands has a "huge problem with Moroccans” — an echo of the denunciations he made in 2014 that are at the center of the hate-speech charges.
"To be silent about it is cowardly,” Wilders wrote, distracting the news media and the public from the prosecution’s opening of the case in court. Referring to a 2014 poll by his Freedom Party, he added in his Twitter post: "43% of Dutch want fewer Moroccans. No verdict will change that.”
The trial has exposed deep fissures in Dutch society, which is known for its religious tolerance.
The Netherlands was one of the six founding states of what became the European Union, but skepticism toward the bloc has been rising. In April, Dutch voters rejected a trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, and after the British referendum on June 23 to leave the bloc, Wilders proposed that the Dutch hold a referendum on withdrawing as well.
Wilders, 53, is charged with offending members of a group based on their race, and hate speech and discrimination. If convicted he could be sentenced to up to two years in prison, though people found guilty of such offenses are more commonly fined or required to do community service.
A conviction could affect his career in Parliament, where he has been the leader of the Party for Freedom since 2006.
Wilders announced on Friday that he would not attend the trial, which is being held in a secure courtroom near Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam. He called himself "a politician who says what the politically correct elite do not want to hear.”
The case revolves around two sets of remarks made near the time of municipal elections in The Hague in 2014. On March 12 of that year, Wilders told the Dutch national broadcaster NOS that he hoped the city’s residents would "vote for a more safe and social city, and if it would be possible, fewer Moroccans.” At a rally a week later, he asked, "Do you want more or fewer Moroccans in this city and in the Netherlands?” The audience responded by chanting, "Fewer, fewer!” Wilders responded, "Well, we’ll arrange that, then.”
The primary judge of the three overseeing the case, Hendrik Steenhuis, spent more than an hour of the trial reconstructing events surrounding the two appearances.
He said he wanted to establish whether the comments had been impulsive, off-the-cuff remarks or planned in advance.
One fact that could influence the outcome, Judge Steenhuis said, was that Wilders repeated the alleged offense after the first event, despite complaints. During the March 19 appearance, Wilders acknowledged that his comments could lead to prosecution.
More than 6,400 Dutch citizens filed complaints after that appearance, and prosecutors have said that they felt obliged to respond.
"There were so many complaints that police were worried that they would lose too much capacity over it,” said Elianne van Rens, one of the other judges, who presented the facts of the case.
Wilders was acquitted on charges of hate speech in 2011, after complaints about his fierce criticisms of Islam.
The earlier case focused on hate speech against a religion or religious beliefs; this time, the target was a population group, according to a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s service, Frans Zonneveld.
"Islam is an idea, a religion, but according to the public prosecution service, you have a lot of room to criticize ideas, but when it comes to population groups, it’s a whole different matter,” Zonneveld said.
As Zonneveld put it, the case is about a conflict between freedom of speech and the freedom from discrimination.
On Friday, Wilders denounced the proceedings.
"It is a travesty that I have to stand trial because I spoke about fewer Moroccans,” he said. "Not because they despise all Moroccans or want all Moroccans out of the country, but because they are sick and tired of the nuisance and terror caused by so many Moroccans.”
He added, "If speaking about this is punishable, then the Netherlands is no longer a free country but a dictatorship.”
In response, Zonneveld said, "The fact that the politician has to appear before a court doesn’t make it a political trial.” He added, "The whole of Dutch society and the people who have made complaints on this issue, as well as Mr. Wilders, have a right to have a court verdict on this matter.”
One of the chief prosecutors, Sabina van der Kallen, expressed irritation that Wilders had failed to inform them that he would not be showing up. "We would have appreciated if we had heard about his absence from the defense and not from the newspaper,” she said.
Source; The New York Times
