Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Dutch court rules it has jurisdiction to try politician over anti-Islam statements

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] An Amsterdam trial court ruled Wednesday that it has jurisdiction to try right-wing politician Geert Wilders for statements against Islam. The court rejected Wilders's claim that he should be tried by the Supreme Court as a member of parliament, finding that Wilders's alleged crime was committed outside his capacity as an MP. The court also rejected all but three of the 18 witnesses Wilders had planned to call. The court will hear the three remaining witnesses, all of whom are experts on Islam, without the jury present. Wilders had hoped to defend his criticisms of Islam and show its dangers by calling to the stand Islamic extremists including Muhammed Bouyeri, who is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment for murdering Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. Wilders's trial is expected to begin June 1. Last month, the court refused a motion to drop or dismiss the charges against Wilders. In September, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced that they would prosecute Wilders following a January 2009 court order by the Amsterdam Court of Appeals. This decision came after the OM announced in June 2008 that it would not prosecute Wilders. Much of the controversy stems from Wilders' 15-minute film, Fitna, which shows images of the Quran alongside images of violence and says democratic values are threatened by the increasing number of Muslims in Europe. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the film "offensively anti-Islamic" after its release. In February 2008, Pakistan blocked access to YouTube's website because it had posted a movie trailer for Wilders' film, but access was restored several days later. Indonesia followed suit in April 2008. The same month, a district court in the Netherlands rejected a bid by the Dutch Islamic Federation to block Wilders' anti-Quran statements, saying that his comments are protected by the right of free expression and do not constitute speech that incites hate or violence.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 04, 2010 (boomark / email).