The public prosecution department is beginning a criminal investigation into 12 statements made on a Facebook page set up to support the anti-Islam PVV.

Police are now tracking down the identities of people who left racist and discriminatory comments on the Facebook page Steun de PVV (support the PVV). The comments were made after the page published an article from the Telegraaf newspaper about the firebombing of mosques in Sweden.

A number of Moroccan organisations made formal complaints against the page for threatening behaviour and incitement to discrimination and hatred. Claims that some comments urged people to firebomb Dutch mosques were not proven, the prosecutor said.

However, some of the comments were inflammatory and did urge violence against Muslims and mosques, the prosecutor said. Nevertheless, the prosecutor said, there was no question of incitement to hatred.

The page manager does not face charges because he removed the reactions extremely quickly.