Wilders Trial Coming to an End
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: The trial of Geert Wilders is nearly over. On Thursday, the three Amsterdam district court judges conducting the trial will announce their verdict. It is widely expected that Mr Wilders will be acquitted on all the charges facing him.

If that is the case, the 29-month legal struggle which saw one of the country’s most popular and influential politicians accused of hate-mongering will come to an end.

It started back in January 2009 when justices of the Amsterdam court ordered the public prosecutor to bring charges against Mr Wilders of inciting hatred and discrimination, based on a number of his anti-Islamic statements published in the national media, as well as Mr Wilders’ film, Fitna.

The trial was supposed to be about

One moment during the dozens of courtroom sessions encapsulated what, for many, the trial was supposed to be about. Twenty-four-year-old law student Naoual Abaida, daughter of a Moroccan immigrant, stood in the courtroom not two metres from Mr Wilders. She was allowed to speak as one of the ‘injured parties’; one of the people who had initially petitioned the Justice Ministry to prosecute him.

Looking into his eyes she said his “insulting, polarising and provocative language has set the tone for a country becoming increasingly intolerant.”

The trial was really about

But for Mr Wilders and his high-profile defence lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, the trial has been about free speech. To them, Mr Wilders is being persecuted for expressing his opinion. They have persuaded much of the Dutch public that this is what the trial is really about.

The courtroom trial got underway in January 2010. Cameras were allowed to film without restrictions during court sessions, a first in the Netherlands. The country has since followed the trial closely.

Islam on trial

The initial defence strategy was to put Islam on trial. Mr Moszkowicz asked the court to hear 18 witnesses, including various academics known for being highly critical of Islam, but also Mohammed Bouyeri, the convicted murderer of Theo van Gogh. The defence wanted to prove that the statements Mr Wilders had made about Islam were true, and therefore could not be considered as incitement.

The court allowed just three of those witnesses to testify in closed hearings. » | Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wilders Trial II: Judges Take Charge
DUTCHNEWS.nl: The new judges sent out a clear message on day one of the trial against PVV leader Geert Wilders: we are in charge here, not the lawyer, not the accused and certainly not the cameras, writes Nico de Fijter in Trouw [Wiki].

‘Your answer please’ the senior judge urged Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz who apparently took too long to react. And moments later, when he made an unsolicited comment on something his opposite number said, the judge reacted with a terse: ‘You are speaking out of turn, Mr. Moszkowicz.’

The new judges, lead by Marcel van Oosten (64) have opted for a strict, businesslike and above all decisive tone.

Tongues had been wagging about how the new judges were going to handle Wilders II. The judiciary came out of the first round with quite a lot of egg on its face. Impolitic comments and downright blunders marked the first trial and lead to the dismissal of the judges.

The judiciary administration did not fare much better: the judges lacked support and were insufficiently prepared. The question of whether or not Wilders was guilty of discrimination and inciting hatred all but disappeared in the judiciary melee.

This is why the judges, the court and the whole judiciary want to see a flawless trial that is not so much about them but about the accused. And that can only happen if the judge takes charge.

And he did. It showed in the way he ticked off Moszkowicz. The camera registration of the trial has been adapted, too. It is still transmitted live but recording will start when the judges have entered the court, not before. And when they leave, the camera’s are no longer allowed to linger either. It’s as if the judges are saying: nothing of importance is going to happen until we are here. >>> | Tuesday, February 08, 2011

BBC: Dutch MP Geert Wilders back in court over 'hate speech': Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders has returned to court in Amsterdam to face trial for inciting hatred, before a new set of judges. >>> | Monday, February 07, 2011

NZZ ONLINE: Rechtspopulist Wilders erneut vor Gericht: Verteidiger will Van-Gogh-Mörder als Zeugen >>> sda | Montag, 07. Februar 2011

"Persécuté" pour ses opinions anti-islam
LA-CROIX: LA HAYE - Pays-Bas : Geert Wilders se dit "persécuté" pour ses opinions anti-islam

Le député néerlandais d'extrême droite Geert Wilders, poursuivi pour incitation à la haine raciale et à la discrimination envers les musulmans, a affirmé lundi devant le tribunal d'Amsterdam être "persécuté" pour ses opinions anti-islam.

"Les citoyens qui critiquent l'islam paient un lourd tribut. Ils sont menacés, persécutés, criminalisés", a soutenu le député, lors d'une audience de procédure retransmise sur internet.

"Celui qui dit la vérité est en danger", a ajouté le chef du Parti pour la liberté (PVV), poursuivi pour avoir qualifié l'islam de "fasciste" et réclamé l'interdiction du Coran, comparé au livre "Mein Kampf" d'Adolf Hitler. >>> AFP | Lundi 07 Février 2011

'Wilders Denied Fair Trial'
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Geert Wilders' defence lawyer told a court in Amsterdam on Tuesday that his client had been denied a fair trial. The Freedom party leader faces charges of inciting hatred, discrimination against minorities and insulting Muslims.

Last year an appeal court ordered the Public Prosecutor's office to press charges, despite its belief that the MP was protected by the right to free speech. >>> | Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Dutch Anti-Islam MP Just 'the Messenger': Lawyer
AFP: THE HAGUE — A defence lawyer rejected accusations of hate speech and xenophobia against Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on Tuesday, urging judges not to "shoot the messenger".

"In his eyes, Islam is a totalitarian ideology," the politician's lawyer Bram Moszkowicz told judges of the Amsterdam district court on the first day of defence pleadings broadcast live via the Internet.

"He is trying to prevent violence from being committed with the Koran in hand," the lawyer said, adding: "Don't shoot the messenger." >>> AFP | Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Geert Wilders in Court Over 'Koran Ban' Controversy


DUTCH NEWS.nl: Judges decide today if Wilders' inciting hatred trial can continue: A special court in Amsterdam will decide on Tuesday afternoon if new judges should be sworn in for the trial of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on charges of inciting hatred.

On Monday, Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz challenged the legitimacy of the court after the presiding judge appeared to criticise Wilders’ decision not to answer any questions. >>> | Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders On Trial for Inciting Racial Hatred
THE TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Islam MP who will become a shadow partner in the next Dutch government, has gone on trial accused of inciting racial hatred against Muslims.

Wilders, 47, is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans. Photo: The Telegraph
The controversial politician risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro (£6,600) fine for calling Islam "fascist" and likening the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Wilders, 47, is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.

In comments made between October 2006 and March 2008 in Dutch newspapers and on internet forums, prosecutors say that Wilders described Islam as "the sick ideology of Allah and Mohammed" and its holy book as "the Mein Kampf of a religion that seeks to eliminate others". >>> | Monday, October 04, 2010

Geert Wilders (right) and Bram Moszkovicz (left), his advocate. The trial judge is Jan Moors. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: From kingmaker to racism trial >>> | Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Bram Moszkowicz, Geert Wilders' lawyer. Photo: De Telegraaf
Wilders’ Lawyer Speaks Out
GATES OF VIENNA: Moszkowicz: Court is overestimating itself

The lawyer for Geert Wilders, Bram Moszkowicz, finds that the court overestimates itself, now that it has found it unnecessary to hear some legal experts. “That is quite something, that a court finds that no legal experts are needed,” Bram Moszkowicz said. “With this the court overestimates itself, and when a judge overestimates himself, I start to be afraid.” >>> Baron Bodissey | Translation by VH | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Original article in Dutch in De Telegraaf

Geert Wilders Doesn’t Get His Way in Court
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Dutch politician Geert Wilders was visibly annoyed when he failed to get what he asked for from the three judges hearing his case at the Amsterdam District Court.

Mr Wilders, through his lawyer Bram Moszkowicz, had requested that 17 witnesses testify as part of his defence against charges that include inciting hatred of Muslims and non-western immigrants.
 


Murderer


Among others, Mr Wilders had asked that Mohammed Bouyeri, the convicted murderer of Theo van Gogh, be called as a expert witness.
 


The judges, however, will not allow Bouyeri to testify. They have also ruled that other 'Muslim extremists' on Mr Wilders' 'wishlist' will not be allowed to testify. The list includes Fawaz Jneid, imam at the Soennah Mosque in The Hague, and Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, chairman of the Guardian Council in Iran.

Ex-Muslims

Mr Wilders will be permitted to call three experts on Islam, out of the total of eight he had actually asked for. However, two ex-Muslims called by his defence team - in part to give their personal view about the impact of Islam - were also rejected.
 


In their ruling, the judges say Mr Wilders will have ample opportunity to tell the court whether he agrees with their decision to disallow some of his chosen witnesses[.] Staying in Amsterdam >>> John Tyler | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Court Limits Wilders' Witness List
DUTCHNEWS.nl: The killer of Theo van Gogh and 14 of the other witnesses anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders wanted to call in his defence against charges of discrimination and inciting hatred have been ruled inadmissible by Amsterdam district court.

But three Islam experts proposed by Wilders will be heard behind closed doors, the judges said on Wednesday afternoon. They include American Syrian psychiatrist Wafa Sultan who believes the world is witness to 'a battle between modernity and barbarism which Islam will lose'.

The court also turned down Wilders' request to hear five legal experts on the grounds that the MP will have ample opportunity to say whether or not he agrees with them during the trial. He had wanted to call 18 experts and Muslim radicals. Truth >>> © DutchNews.nl | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Prozess: Wilders bestreitet Vorwurf der Islam-Hetze
DIE PRESSE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Wilders muss sich ab heute wegen Volksverhetzung vor Gericht verantworten. Ihm drohen 16 Monate Gefängnis. Seine Anhänger demonstrieren gegen das Verfahren.

In Amsterdam hat am Mittwoch der Prozess gegen den niederländischen Islam-Gegner Geert Wilders begonnen. Der populäre Politiker ist wegen Volksverhetzung angeklagt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft wirft ihm die Beleidigung von Muslimen und ihrer Religion sowie Aufstachelung zum Hass gegen Anhänger des Islam vor. Es drohen 16 Monate Gefängnis sowie eine Geldstrafe von bis zu 10.000 Euro.

Wilders wies vor Gericht alle Vorwürfe zurück. Seine kritischen Äußerungen über Anhänger des Islam und über den Koran als "faschistische" Anleitung zum Terrorismus seien "ein substanzieller Beitrag zur öffentlichen Debatte" und keineswegs strafbar. >>> Ag. | Mittwoch, 20. Januar 2010

Update on Our Hero in Amsterdam – “Geert Akbar”! Geert Wilders: 'I want Muslim Fanatic to Speak in My Defence'
TIMES ONLINE: Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-Right MP, has demanded that his race hate trial should hear evidence from the fanatic who used the Koran to justify killing the director of an anti-Islamic film.

It marked an incendiary opening to the landmark case that has divided the Netherlands over the limits of freedom. Mr Wilders, 46, who is accused of incitement and discrimination, asked for 18 witnesses to be called in his defence, including Mohammed Bouyeri, the man who stabbed and shot Theo Van Gogh in an Amsterdam street in 2004.

The Van Gogh murder left a deep scar on the national conscience. It helped to change the mood of tolerance of Islam, and boosted Mr Wilders’s popularity.

Mr Wilders, whose Party for Freedom came second in the European elections last summer, faces a 70-page charge sheet covering five counts of breaking Dutch law in more than 100 public statements — for example, by likening the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf and calling for an end to the “Islamic invasion”. He could be fined or jailed if convicted.

The alleged offences include Mr Wilders’s film Fitna, which shows images of 9/11 and beheadings interspersed with verses from the Koran. It ends with a clip of the controversial Danish cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

At the opening day of the trial the prosecution objected to the request to hear from Bouyeri, and the panel of four judges adjourned until February 3 to consider which witnesses to call. “This case is about more than Mr Wilders,” Bram Moszkowicz, his lawyer, told the court. “It touches us all. It is such an important and principled question that could have far-reaching consequences.”

Mr Moszkowicz argued that the witnesses Mr Wilders wanted to call would prove that what he said was not simply inoffensive but true. He suggested that Bouyeri, a dual Moroccan-Dutch national, would be key to the case because he was a fervent Muslim who carried a Koran during his trial and defended his crime by claiming that Islam permitted violence against unbelievers. >>> David Charter in Amsterdam | Thursday, January 21, 2010

First Day in Wilders Trial
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: The trial of the Dutch politician Geert Wilders, began this Wednesday.

The lead judge of the court started off by addressing Geert Wilders, leader of the populist PVV party, directly. The judge said that while the media might have portrayed his case as foregone, his court “would not cast judgment before the last word has been spoken”.

It is quite uncommon for judges to reassure their suspects that they will receive a fair trial. But it seems little in the case against Wilders will be business as usual. On Wednesday morning, hundreds of Wilders’ sympathizers were gathered outside the Amsterdam courtroom where Wilders was on trial for group slander and inciting discrimination and violence. A large number of Wilder’s statements to the media and his anti-Islam film Fitna will be presented as evidence. A comparison Wilders drew between the Koran and Hitler’s Mein Kampf is one of his remarks now under legal scrutiny.

Witnesses to be called

The hearing on Wednesday was formal in nature, establishing a general schedule for the trial. The defence and prosecution will be presenting their cases later this year. The first outlines of the case became clear on Wednesday however. The court will have to decide who can be called as a witness by Thursday. Wilders has said he feels that Islam should be on trial instead of him. In an attempt to prove that Islam provokes evil, he wants to call Theo van Gogh’s murderer, Mohammed B., as a witness. He also hopes to call a number of Dutch scholars who have voiced criticism of Islam in the past. The court might limit or expand the scope of the trial by allowing or barring certain witnesses.

Wednesday’s formal hearing kicked off with a number of preliminary motions in which the defence argued why Wilders should not be tried in the first place. His lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, named several. He argued that Wilders should not be tried in Amsterdam, but in The Hague, where he lives. Moszkowicz also argued that the scope of the charges against Wilders had been extended unjustly when the public prosecutor chose to try him for inciting hatred against non-western migrant communities and Moroccans. The prosecution had not yet responded when this article was written. Already convicted? >>> Merel Thie | Wednesday, January 20, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Hero on Trial in the Netherlands
TIMES ONLINE: The Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders was greeted with applause from the public gallery as he faced court for the first day of his landmark trial on charges of inciting racial hatred against Muslims.

Mr Wilders, 46, sat impassively as his lawyer argued that the leader of the Freedom Party, which made big gains at last summer's European elections, had made his critical remarks about Islam in his role as an elected Member of Parliament.

Bram Moszkowicz said that Mr Wilders had a mandate to speak out against what he saw as the Islamisation of the Netherlands and argued that he had not discriminated against a specific national group, saving his attacks for the ideology of political Islam.

Around 200 supporters of Mr Wilders had travelled from as far as Cologne in Germany to hold up placards declaring that free speech was under assault by Islam and by the politically correct. The case is being watched as a test of the limits of political tolerance in the Netherlands after years of relaxed immigration policies which have seen the Musim population rise to around 1 million out of 16 million.

"This case is about more than Mr Wilders," Mr Moszkowicz told Amsterdam District Court this morning. "It touches us all. It is such an important and principled question that could have far-reaching consequences."

Mr Wilders faces a 70-page charge sheet covering five counts of breaking Dutch law on incitement and discriminiation against Muslims in more than 100 public statements, for example by likenening the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and calling for an end to the "Islamic invasion."

The alleged offences include Mr Wilders' film Fitna, which shows images of 9/11 and beheadings interspersed with verses from the Koran. It ends with a the controverisal Danish cartoon of the prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb as a turban. Far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders on trial for anti-Muslim stance >>> David Charter in Amsterdam | Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Islam-Gegner Wilders in den Niederlanden vor Gericht: Alle Anschuldigungen beim Prozessauftakt bestritten
NZZ ONLINE: Zu Beginn seines Prozesses wegen angeblicher Anstachelung zum Hass gegen Muslime hat der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders alle Vorwürfe der Volksverhetzung zurückgewiesen.

Die ihm zur Last gelegten kritischen Äusserungen über Muslime, den Koran und den Islam seien «ein substanzieller Beitrag zur öffentlichen Debatte» und keineswegs strafbar, erklärte Wilders Abraham Moszkowicz vor Gericht in Amsterdam.

Der Gründer und Chef der Partei für die Freiheit (PVV) habe seine Islam-Kritik zudem stets in seiner Eigenschaft als Abgeordneter des niederländischen Parlaments vorgebracht und müsse daher Immunität geniessen. Gerichtsgebäude abgeriegelt >>> sda/dpa | Mittwoch, 20. Januar 2010

MEIN KOMMENTAR: So nervös sind wir des Islams wegen in Europa geworden, daß harmlose Kommentare wie dieser, aus Angst, werden nicht mehr gedruckt:

In Europa ist es so weit gekommen, daß wir nicht mehr aussprechen dürfen, was für ein Gefahr für unsere Zivilisation und unsere Freiheit Islam ist. Erstaunlich! Blödsinnig! Dumm! Wir begehen Selbstmord! – © Mark

Wilders to Be Tried for Hate Speech
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Geert Wilders will be tried for hate speech and inciting discrimination in a Dutch court next Wednesday.

A ruling on Tuesday took away the last obstacle standing in the way of the case against anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, when the court dismissed his objections against prosecution.

Wilders’ lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, had argued his client could not be prosecuted for discriminatory insults since the Dutch supreme court had very narrowly defined that concept in a ruling last March. The supreme court then found that insulting a religion did not automatically imply an insult to its believers, meaning it could be legal.

Last Tuesday however, the lower court hearing Wilder’s objections found that the supreme court ruling did not stand in the way of Wilder’s prosecution.

The ruling paves the way for the case against Wilders to be tried, which has been long in the making.

The case against Wilders originates in several complaints filed by the Dutch lawyer Gerard Spong on behalf of several clients, including the well known Dutch comedian Jörgen Raymann and the board of the As Soennah Mosque in The Hague. >>> NRC Handelsblad’s News Staff | Thursday, January 14, 2010

Niederlande: Bahn frei für Prozess gegen Wilders

DIE PRESSE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders muss sich im März wegen Aufstachelung zum Hass gegen Muslime vor Gericht verantworten. Seine Beschwerde gegen den Prozess ist zurückgewiesen worden.

Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders muss sich im März in einem mit Spannung erwarteten Prozess für die mutmaßliche Aufstachelung zum Hass gegen Muslime verantworten. Eine Beschwerde gegen das Verfahren wurde am Mittwoch von einem Gericht in Amsterdam zurückgewiesen. Wilders habe keine neuen Beweise vorgelegt, die zu einer Abschwächung der Anklage führen könnten.

Vorwurf eines "Schauprozesses"

Er habe keine Volksverhetzung betrieben, sagte der Chef der erstarkten rechtsgerichteten "Partei für die Freiheit" in der Gerichtsanhörung. Das, was er gegen Islam und Koran gesagt habe, sei von der Meinungsfreiheit geschützt. Nach der Anhörung warf er der niederländischen Justiz vor, einen politischen Schauprozess gegen ihn zu inszenieren. 

Selbst "das Rechtssystem in Nordkorea ist besser als das der Niederlande". Die Rahmenbedingungen bei der Anhörung zu seinem bevorstehenden Prozess in Amsterdam nannte Wilders "schlimmer als im Archipel Gulag", berichtete die Zeitung "de Volkskrant" am Donnerstag. Koran wie "Mein Kampf" verbieten >>> Ag. | Donnerstag, 14. Januar 2010

Pays-Bas: le député Wilders débouté
LE FIGARO: Un tribunal d'Amsterdam a rejeté mercredi une requête du député d'extrême droite néerlandais Geert Wilders, réalisateur du film anti-islam "Fitna", contre l'acte d'accusation du parquet qui le poursuit notamment pour incitation à la haine raciale. La requête de M. Wilders, qui conteste les poursuites dont il fait l'objet, est "non recevable", a indiqué le tribunal.



M. Wilders, 46 ans, est accusé d'avoir insulté les musulmans et d'avoir incité à la haine et à la discrimination à leur égard pour avoir comparé le Coran au "Mein Kampf" d'Adolf Hitler, selon l'acte d'accusation dont l'AFP a obtenu une copie. Il est également poursuivi pour incitation à la haine et à la discrimination envers les personnes d'origine étrangère, notamment marocaine, pour des propos tenus dans la presse et sur internet. >>> AFP | Mercredi 13 Janvier 2010

Lights Dim on West: Prosecution Widens Charges Against Free Speech in Geert Wilders Trial
ATLAS SHRUGS: They are creating new charges against Geert Wilders, this century's Winston Churchill. This is bad news for Wilders, but worse news for us. For Wilders is merely our proxy in this war on Western civilization and values. This is our battle.

The escalation in the persecution of Wilders is directly related to his popularity. He is now the number one party in the Netherlands (origin of recent Muslim plane attackers). So not only is Wilders being prosecuted, but so are a majority of beleaguered Dutch folks.

Islamic jihad can keep up its relentless destruction of the West but do not dare talk about it.

The trial begins January 20th. >>> Pamela Geller | Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Prosecution of Wilders Will Go Ahead
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLWIDE: The Public Prosecutor's Office will now definitely go ahead with the prosecution of the populist MP Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination. The Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal from Mr Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz to get the case dropped. This was the last avenue of appeal.

Initially the Public Prosecutor had no intention of putting Mr Wilders on trial, until an Amsterdam court responded to complaints lodged by prominent lawyer Gerard Spong and others by ruling that Mr Wilders had exceeded his parliamentary privilege and committed punishable offences.

He will be charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims, particularly by comparing the Qur'an with Hitler's Mein Kampf and Islam with fascism.

On the website of his Freedom Party, Mr Wilders said, "It is a political trial. I am being prosecuted for saying about Islam what millions of Dutch people think. Freedom of speech is in danger of being sacrificed on the altar of Islam." Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin commented, "We do not have political trials in the Netherlands." [Source: RNW] | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wilders Asks High Court to Halt Prosecution
Geert Wilders courtesy of Google Images
NRC HANDELSBLAD: Populist politician Geert Wilders is taking his case to the high court, asking the country's highest judicial body to quash the order to prosecute him "in the interest of the law".

The member of parliament has enlisted one of the Netherlands' best known lawyers, Bram Moszkowicz, to fight his prosecution over inciting hatred and discrimination. The lawyer has confirmed he is taking the case to the country's high court, requesting an immediate end to the proceedings.

The Amsterdam appeals court in January ordered that Wilders must be prosecuted for insulting Muslims and describing the Koran as "the Islamic Mein Kampf". Wilders, leader of the opposition Party for Freedom (PVV), claims he is doing nothing other than exercising his right to free speech, both inside and outside parliament. Following formal objections by individual citizens and interest groups, the Amsterdam court order reversed a decision by the public prosecutor's office to refrain from opening a case against Wilders.

Wilders on his website says: "I've hired the best lawyer of the Netherlands for a ruthless fight against the charges that I'm facing." In an earlier case Moszkowicz profited from a state’s request to quash a case in the interest of the law, achieving almost by accident his desired result of halting the prosecution in the Netherlands of Surinam's former strongman Desi Bouterse for his involvement in a series of political murders in 1982. The court declared in 2001 that the Netherlands had no jurisdiction in that case.

Dozens of citizens, companies and authorities plead for the cassation of irrevocable verdicts against them every year in the Netherlands, mostly to no avail. The independent representative of the prosecution at the high court almost never accepts such requests. The procedure is mainly used to correct obvious mistakes, clarify jurisprudence, affirm or rephrase the court's position. The criteria for quashing a verdict "in the interest of the law" is that a greater public interest is at stake.

According to Ybo Buruma, professor of criminal law at the Radboud University, Wilders's request to have his case put before the high court has a minimal chance of success. Buruma thinks that public relations are more involved here than the law. Yet he understands why Moszkowicz is exploring this avenue, given the practical consequences of the verdict in the Bouterse case. >>> By Folkert Jensma | Tuesday, February 3, 2009

This article was translated and edited in partnership with RNW.

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Top Lawyer to Defend Dutch Anti-Islam MP Wilders
Bram Moszkowitcz is one of the Netherlands’ top advocates. Photo courtesy of Google Images
"I've hired the best lawyer of the Netherlands for a ruthless fight against the charges that I'm facing." – Geert Wilders
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Rightwing populist Dutch MP Geert Wilders has enlisted one of the Netherlands' top lawyers to fight his prosecution over inciting hatred. The lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, has confirmed he is taking the case to the country's Supreme Court, requesting an immediate end to the proceedings. He is calling for the Court to quash the prosecution order "in the interest of the law". The Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) is the country's highest judicial body. >>> By Rob Kievit | Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>