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Geert Wilders Case Reveals Deeper Problems in the West
by Ivar Scheers https://www.legal-project.org/877/geert-wilders-case-reveals-deeper-problems-in Excerpt: Four weeks ago, the trial of Geert Wilders started in Amsterdam. Wilders is a right-wing politician from the Netherlands accused of hate speech and discrimination against Muslims. Friday, October 22, his lawyer successfully challenged the Court's impartiality after the media reported that one of the judges allegedly attempted to influence a witness summoned by Mr. Wilders. Following a complaint filed by Mr. Wilders' lawyer, another panel of judges ordered a retrial of the whole case. Before the case went to court in the first place, the prosecutor decided that the statements in question were not punishable by law and therefore refused to initiate prosecution. Some of Mr. Wilders' opponents successfully challenged this decision in court through a special procedure in Dutch penal law, and subsequently, the court ordered the public prosecutor to start a case against Mr. Wilders. But since a flawed indictment was used as an attempt to incriminate Mr. Wilders' statements, the whole process backfired on those who hoped for a conviction of the controversial politician. The court that ordered the prosecution of Mr. Wilders not only blatantly violated his right to freedom of speech, but it simultaneously attempted to convict nearly one and a half million Dutch voters sharing the opinion of Mr. Wilders. Wilders' constituency keeps rising, partly due to outrage caused by the trial, which was considered by many as an attack on free speech. Read the complete original version of this item... receive the latest by email: subscribe to the legal project's free mailing list Note: The content of external articles does not necessarily reflect the views of The Legal Project. |
Geert Wilders Lauds Legal Project "Last June, I was acquitted of all charges by an Amsterdam court. The Middle East Forum's Legal Project ... was always there to help, advise and assist ... The importance of the MEF's Legal Project in reclaiming free expression and political discourse ... cannot be overestimated." — Geert Wilders, September 29, 2011 Latest Blog Posts
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