Fitna: Wilders’ opponents refuse to give up

Tuesday 01 July 2008

A number of organisations and individuals who feel MP Geert Wilders has incited racial hatred and discrimination with his anti-Islam statements are to appeal directly to judges for his prosecution, news agency ANP reports.

On Monday, the public prosecution department said Wilders will not face charges for his statements likening the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf or for his short feature film Fitna which equates Islam with violence.

The department said the fact that statements are hurtful and offensive to a large number of Muslims does not mean they are punishable - if made in the context of public debate.

The Dutch Moroccan organisation SMN said it regretted that the department ‘did not dare to let judges decide where the boundaries of freedom of expression lie’.

Some 40 individuals and organisations had accused Wilders of encouraging religious hatred and made formal complaints against him.

Prosecutors also argued that Wilders was attacking Islam as a religion but not its followers, and this is not punishable by law. Nor can it be proven that Wilders is inciting hatred against Muslims, they said.

According to the Telegraaf, Wilders is now considering producing a second film.

© DutchNews.nl

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