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by Judith Bergman
• October 24, 2016 at 5:00 am
- It is deeply
troubling that the court already before the criminal trial has even
begun, so obviously compromises its own impartiality and objectivity.
Are other European courts also quietly submitting to jihadist values
of curtailing free speech and "inconvenient" political
views?
- If you are a
politician and concerned about the future welfare of your country, you
should be able to discuss the pertinent issues of the day, including
problems with immigrants and other population groups.
- Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights states that: "Everyone has
the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom
to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas
without interference by public authority and regardless of
frontiers..."
- In its case law,
the Court has stated that Article 10 "...protects not only the
information or ideas that are regarded as inoffensive but also those
that offend, shock or disturb; such are the demands of that pluralism,
tolerance and broad-mindedness without which there is no democratic
society. Opinions expressed in strong or exaggerated language are also
protected".
- Wilders did not
incite to violence or prosecution (or humiliation), nor did he
jeopardize national security or public safety.
- Clearly, in the
Netherlands, justice is no longer blind and the courts no longer
independent and impartial state institutions.
Geert Wilders during his March 2014 speech, where he
asked "Do you want more or fewer Moroccans?" (Image source:
nos.nl video screenshot)
A court in The Hague decided on October 14 that the charges of hate
speech against Dutch politician Geert Wilders, for statements he made in
March 2014 at a political rally, are admissible in a court of law. It
thereby rejected the Wilders' appeal to throw out the charges as
inadmissible in a court of law on the grounds that these are political
issues and that a trial would in fact amount to a political process. The
criminal trial against Wilders will begin on Monday, October 31.
While campaigning in The Hague in March 2014, Wilders argued the need
for fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. At an election meeting in The
Hague, he asked those present a number of questions, one of which was
"Do you want more or fewer Moroccans?" After the crowd responded
"fewer" Wilders said, "We're going to organize that."
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