By the time I get up tomorrow morning, the second phase of the Geert Wilders trial in Amsterdam will have begun, and the news will be pouring in. In the meantime, here are some additional videos of the first session of the trial, which were evidently taken by a camera sneaked past the tight security in the visitors gallery on January 20th.
Our satellite connection is so dicey that I haven’t been able to view all these videos in their entirety, so I hope they work all right for our readers.
Our Flemish correspondent VH, who sent all this material, had this to say:
In a brief notice, Het Vrije Volk posted a link to someone called “Hollandse_Nieuwe”, who is uploading video reports (probably filmed with a candid camera) of Wilders’ trial.
Underneath I added all the related videos (with accompanying texts) that I could find on livingscoop.
Supporters of Geert Wilders & Free Speech
On 20 January 2010, many supporters of PVV leader Geert Wilders gathered from early in the morning just outside Building E of Amsterdam Court House located on Parnassusweg, in order to support Geert Wilders and free speech.
Not all supporters could enter the Court room as the number of places for the public was limited to 100.
Supporters of Geert Wilders & Free Speech (1:44)
In times like these we have to ask ourselves several important questions.
How can you, I, our friends and children really trust that what we see on TV and hear on the radio is true?
How do we know that our opinions are really our own?
How can we be sure that the weak voices are heard and not scared into silence?
I can tell you how. There is one person we can thank for all of this: Geert Wilders.
We can thank this person for giving us new perspectives. We can thank this person for giving us a choice. This person gives us an alternative to uniformity and short-term thinking.
We owe this person for making an ordinary day into something special. A day when we rise from the TV couch and say:
“I’ve changed my opinion.”
There’s only one word that does full justice to that person: Hero.
Thank you.
From inside the Court Room
This session of Geert Wilders (leader of political party PVV) trial was filmed from inside the public courtroom in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). The public was not allowed to enter the other court room where Geert Wilders was with accredited journalists. And it was forbidden to film. Security guards were inside the Court House, and Court room, keeping an eye on everyone.
GEERT WILDERS TRIAL — 20/01/2010
From inside the Court Room — Part 1 (28:33)
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GEERT WILDERS TRIAL — 20/01/2010
From inside the Court Room — Part 2 (29:59)
GEERT WILDERS TRIAL — 20/01/2010
From inside the Court Room — Part 3 (9:24)
GEERT WILDERS TRIAL — 20/01/2010
Hollandse_Nieuwe
Here’s the first bit of news on the trial: Court rejects 15 out of 18 witnesses for the defence.
Robert Spencer and Andrew Bostom will not be coming to Holland. On the plus side: Wafa Sultan *is* coming.
Towards a better understanding of Islam