Dutch MP to be prosecuted over anti-Islam comments
Amsterdam appellate court says right-wing MP Geert Wilders who directed film accusing Koran of inciting violence must stand trial. 'This is a very black day for freedom of speech,' he says
Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who has made a short film accusing the Koran of inciting violence, must be prosecuted for anti-Islam comments, an Amsterdam court said on Wednesday.
The court overruled the public prosecutor who had declined to prosecute Wilders, whose film "Fitna" urged Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses from the Koran.
"The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.
"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," the statement said.
"Fitna", a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife", intersperses shots of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and other bombings with quotations from the Koran. "This is a very black day for me and for freedom of speech. I am shaken. I had absolutely not expected it," Dutch news agency ANP quoted Wilders as saying in an initial reaction.
