The trial of MP Geert Wilders on charges of inciting hatred and discrimination must be heard again, a special committee of Amsterdam district court ruled on Friday afternoon.

After a day of bizarre twists, Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz again asked for the judges to be dismissed because they refused to rule on whether a key witness should be recalled.
According to De Pers newspaper, defence witnesses Hans Jansen may have been pressured by another court official at a dinner party.
The judges’ refusal to recall him, coupled with other irregularities earlier in the trial, prompted the special panel to dismiss the court and order a retrial. The incidents have led to the impression the court is biased [against the MP], court president Leendert Verheij is reported as saying.

Dinner
The newspaper report focused on a dinner attended by Hans Jansen, a retired professor of Arabic studies, which was also attended by an Amsterdam appeal court judge.
The judge, Tom Schalken, was part of the court which in January 2009 ruled the public prosecution department should take Wilders to court.
During the dinner, Schalken tried to ‘convince me of the correctness of his decision to take Wilders to court,’ Jansen told the paper.
The judge’s behaviour was ‘ill-manned and unprofessional,’ Jansen was quoted as saying by Nos tv.
Verheij said he is satisfied there had been no attempt to influence Jansen but that the fact the two had met at the dinner was ‘unfortunate’.
Friday was supposed to be the last day of hearings. It is not clear when the case will be reheard but the process is likely to take months.