Acquittal for Geert Wilders on One Count

In the latest news from Amsterdam, the Public Prosecutor said today that Geert Wilders must be acquitted of one of the charges against him. Our Flemish correspondent VH has translated an article with the latest from Elsevier:

Prosecutor: acquittal for Wilders for group-insult

by Maartje Willems, Arne Hankel

[Tuesday, October 12, 2010] Geert Wilders must be acquitted of insulting Muslims and immigrants as a group. The Public Prosecutor (OM) said this Tuesday in court in Amsterdam.

The PVV leader is on trial for group-insult because he compared the Quran to Mein Kampf. The prosecutors Birgit van Roessel and Paul Velleman find that Wilders must be acquitted of group-insult because the statements were related to the Islam and the Quran, and not to Muslims.

Aside from group-insult, the OM retains charges against the politician of incitement to hatred and discrimination. These facts will be discussed on Friday, when the prosecutors complete their story and make their case known.

The OM also said earlier today that none of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Geert Wilders should receive a compensation. According to the OM, it has not been proven that the complainants have been directly harmed by the expressions of the PVV leader.

At the beginning of the session there was disagreement about providing a copy of the indictment. The OM wanted to hand the clerk of the court a copy of the argumentation, of which Wilders’ lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, also wanted a copy. This was refused by the OM, because the defense could then read in advance. After a brief deliberation, the court decided that the clerk would return the copy. This was agreed to by all parties.

VH adds this note:

On Friday the prosecution will formulate a sentence against Wilders. The argumentation that proceeds the final requirement began this Tuesday, and will — due to the length of it — be continued and concluded on Friday.