Judges Told to Step Down in Wilders Trial
Geert Wilders says freedom of speech in the Netherlands is on trial. Photo: BBC
BBC: Judges in the hate speech trial of Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders have been ordered to step down by an independent appeals panel.

The move follows a request by Mr Wilders' lawyers who said they feared the judges were biased against him.

The legal process that began in January must now begin again with new judges. The trial itself started in October.

Mr Wilders faces five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

Mr Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz had argued that the bench at Amsterdam District Court had created "an impression of partiality" by putting off a decision on the defence's request to recall a witness.

Being denied the opportunity to recall the witness would "make it impossible for the defence to substantiate a crucial part of its case", he added.

A hastily convened panel said on Friday that it found the trial judges' decision to be "incomprehensible in the absence of any motivation".

They said that Mr Wilders' fear of bias as a result was "understandable". >>> | Friday, October 22, 2010

Geert Wilders Trial Faces Restart After Judges Dismissed
THE TELEGRAPH: The trial of Geert Wilders on charges of inciting racial hatred against Muslims will have [to] begin all over again after the controversial Dutch anti-Islam politician won an appeal to have his judges sacked for bias.

A Dutch court ruled in favour of a request by Mr Wilders' defence lawyer to have new trial judges installed after allegations of improper conduct by a member of a judicial appeals panel directly involved in the case.

"This gives me a new chance of a new fair trial. I am confident that I can only be acquitted because I have broken no law, but spoken the truth," he said.

Mr Wilders, 47, went on trial on October 4 for inciting hatred by describing Islam as Nazism and for comparing the "fascist" Koran to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf", which is banned in the Netherlands.

The charges were laid before Dutch elections last June returned Mr Wilders' Freedom Party as the third largest in the country's parliament.

He and his party's 23 other MPs have lent their support to a minority Dutch conservative government in return for key policy concessions, such as a burka ban and new curbs on immigration. >>> Bruno Waterfield | Friday, October 22, 2010