Miami - Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PPV), will be facing trial in 2016, for “inciting discrimination and hatred” against Moroccans living in the Netherlands, announced the spokesman assigned to the case at The Hague Court.
Miami – Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PPV), will be facing trial in 2016, for “inciting discrimination and hatred” against Moroccans living in the Netherlands, announced the spokesman assigned to the case at The Hague Court.
On Tuesday the Court informed the Dutch media that no specific date has been set for the trial, and clarified there are no delays in the process; however, it is a “special case” that requires further examinations.
Wilders is known for his hostility against immigrants, especially Muslims. The ‘far right’ populist leader delivered a ‘hate speech’ against Moroccans in the Netherlands, in 2014, for which the Dutch Prosecutor said he would be tried for “discrimination and incitement to hatred”.
Wilders is accused of “insulting a group of people based on their race”.
Last May, the Dutch Prosecutor had summoned the Defense to “work faster” to commence the trial before summer 2015, yet it did not occur.
Meanwhile, Wilders lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops rejected the Prosecutor’s accusations saying his client has to defend himself of “over 6,000 complaints, and he has the right to take his time”.
According to the prosecution side, “politicians can go far in their statements thanks to freedom of speech, but such freedom ends with the prohibition of discrimination”.
Wilder’s trial is set to commence in early 2016.
