The kangaroo-court trial of Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) in The Netherlands, begins tomorrow with a procedural session.
As has been previously reported, most of the complaints against Mr. Wilders were filed on pre-printed forms that had been handed out to people. Some of the complainants were invited by the police to fill out the form.
To an American observer, it seems very strange that Mr. Wilders was denied the right to interview all the complainants — he was only allowed to interview a selected group comprising about one-quarter of one percent of those who had filed complaints. This would be contrary to the cherished American right (based in English Common Law) to confront one’s accusers.
But The Netherlands is a strange country. They do things differently there.
Last Saturday, March 12, 2016, De Telegraaf, the largest newspaper, published an article stating that there have been irregularities with several legal complaints lodged against Mr. Wilders.
Below is a translated version of the article in De Telegraaf. Also included is an excerpt from an interview with Göran Sluiter, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (print edition) from Wednesday March 16, 2016. In the interview Mr Sluiter announces that he will claim damages for the plaintiffs:
De Telegraaf, March 12, 2016
Fake declarations
Plaintiffs: Wilders often had no idea what they signed
“I thought we were voting”
The charges [against Wilders] were often pressed by ignorant, non-Dutch-speaking and sometimes even illiterate elderly immigrants who had no idea what they were doing. De Telegraaf has had access to the records.
One of the reasons that the Public Prosecutor indicted Wilders was that 6,400 charges had been pressed against him, as well as 15,000 reports of discrimination.
Next Friday these complaints will be discussed when Geert Wilders appears in court for the first time in the second trial against him. It is a procedural session, where the procedure of the trial will be discussed. In the Autumn, the actual trial begins. Wilders’ lawyer is Geert-Jan Knoops.
In recent months interviews were conducted, in which the defense, the prosecutor and the magistrate questioned people who had lodged complaints. Initially, Knoops tried to investigate the motives of all 6,400 plaintiffs. This was refused by the judge. After much pleading, the defense was given the opportunity to select fifteen plaintiffs whom they could hear under oath. This newspaper refers to the anonymous witnesses as B, C, D, F, and G.
“We are Muslims and we speak the truth,” said witness ‘B’ at the start of his interrogation. He stated that he thought that elections were being organized and that he was asked to vote for or against Wilders. “There were several places where you could vote, and one of these places was the mosque on the Fruitweg, the As-Sunnah mosque,” he says, referring to the Muslim prayer center in the Schilderswijk in The Hague. “I have been asked to cast my vote about Wilders, at least if that is his name.”
This was asked in the mosque by people “who came from outside,” as well as by visitors to the mosque. He would rather not mention any names. “Maybe, this might lead to quarrels later, because they might ask me: why have you done this, why have you mentioned our names?” The fact that his declaration turned out to be a complaint, which was one of the reasons why Wilders has to appear in court, surprises ‘B’: “What for? Why should he appear in court? I do not know.”
Witness “C” stated in his complaint that he felt discriminated against. The interrogation reveals that this is not true. “I did not feel discriminated against, I just did not want any fitna, any riot. I do think that he is allowed to say whatever he wants, but we should also be allowed to say what we want.”
While walking in the market square, a complaint form was put into his hands and a person unknown to him said: “This form, this is against Wilders and must be filled in.” That was quite a challenge, because “C” is illiterate.
Witness ‘D’ was given a complaint form in the As-Sunnah mosque. Somebody else filled in the document for him, he explains. “If you wanted to press charges he helped to fill it in. Several people did this.”
The interrogation takes a remarkable turn when suddenly a lawyer on behalf of ‘D’ appears. The lawyer has probably been sent by the As-Sunnah mosque, without the witness’ understanding what the counsel is coming to do. The lawyer is, therefore, dismissed. Some assistance to ‘D’, however, would not have been out of place: he told the magistrate that Wilders “obviously is a president.” All he contributed to the pressing of charges was his signature.
‘D’ claims to have heard that via the As-Sunnah mosque as many as 1,200 people pressed charges against Wilders. “Every Friday, there are more than 2,000 people who come to pray in the mosque,” he explains. “I saw it as an election, there was going to be a count and they were going to see who would go up and who would go down.”
One interrogation seems to confirm rumors about the special involvement of some government officials in organizing the legal complaints against Wilders. Witness “F” says that he, together with about 40 people, went to the police in Delft to “protest” against Wilders, not to press charges. “We were told that they, too, felt uncomfortable because of what he had said.”
The police are said to have completed the complaint form. What the police officer wrote on the papers, the plaintiff does not know; he is illiterate, and the officer did not read it out to him. “I was told to sign the document.” An interpreter was not present. According to “F”, the translation was done, among others, by a councilor for the Labor Party (PvdA).
In Tilburg as well, the police actively interfered with the complaints, says witness ‘G’. “The police helped to fill in the forms.” This happened at the Al Fatah mosque in the provincial town where “everyone” is said to have pressed charges. “The directors [of the mosque] told us that the police would come and that the intention was to fill in a complaint form.”
A number of interrogations have yet to take place. It is therefore quite possible that some testimonies will reveal that there were people who indeed knew what they were doing. In any case, there have been people in the media declaring that they had consciously pressed charges.
What is striking from the statements which this newspaper has seen, however, is that those who pressed charges had often been told by friends, family or visitors of the mosque about Wilders’ statements, without having themselves taken note of them. In addition, there was also fear of unrest or expulsion. “We have lived here for fifty years and we just want to be left in peace,” witness ‘C’ said. “We were confronted with children who came home crying and said they had to leave the country,” witness ‘G’ said.
It is not clear whether the grounds for prosecution will collapse if a significant number of the complaints appear to be wrong. A criminal offense constitutes a criminal offense, if Wilders’ call for “fewer Moroccans” is defined as such. The defense did not wish to comment on this specific point to this newspaper.
Wilders says he finds the testimonies “incredibly shocking.” “There appears to be something wrong with more than half of the plaintiffs who have been heard. People did not even know they were pressing charges or they thought that they were just going to vote. These are fake complaints.”
Algemeen Dagblad, March 16, 2016
Excerpts from an interview with Göran Sluiter, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the upcoming Wilders trial:
Full of confidence, he looks forward to the Wilders trial. Göran Sluiter, lawyer for the plaintiffs in the “fewer Moroccans” case. “My clients have been lying awake because of the statements by Wilders.”
[…]
Why do your clients claim damages from Wilders?
“It is a civil claim that is ‘free riding’ on the criminal case. If Wilders is convicted, then the victims with direct damage caused by his criminal acts are entitled to compensation. That is the law. There are no large sums involved, the jurisprudence in cases of discrimination refers to 100 or 200 euros. Look, these people have suffered damages because of Wilders’ statements. They have worried after those statements, they had symptoms of depression, they were lying awake, wondering: will there still a place for me in the Netherlands in the near future? They feel that Wilders had caused all this worrying. And so do I.”
European leftists are determined to destroy Western Civilization.
Geert Wilders only speaks the truth about Islam and its adherents. Making it a crime to speak the truth does not say much for free speech or the Western enlightenment.
European leftists are setting the stage for the Euro/Islamic civil war at best or, burkas for their granddaughters at worst.
Bigger historical fools would be hard to find.
This load of old rubbish called the European Onion looks like it’s hovering on the edge of an an old Soviet collapse replay. Talk about out of touch with the peeple. I thought I saw the ghost of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu at the Brussel Sprouts and Turkey crime syndicate blackmail meeting. I imagine any country opting out now will have no regrets.
Mr Wilders will dominate.
At least they were being honest about what happened. I have to say I am astonished by the evil in the people behind this. It is a choice. The Netherlands sounds more like the Nether in Minecraft than “Low Country”. My daughter plays it. The Nether is Hell.
A little civil disobedience, and the Netherlands would collapse like the house of cards that it is. I suspect much more of the Netherlands administration is like this farce of a judiciary, and makes about as much sense.
Does anybody over there understand who MLK was, and what was accomplished by our civil rights movement of the 1960’s? I guess a distinction must be made between opposing actual published laws on the books on the one hand; and this weird EUropean attitude that no criticism of a hostile separate societal cancer can ever be tolerated on the other. Maybe the fight over here was more defined as was the target, but I fear the result in EUrope if no MASS assault on such a self-destructive ‘kultur’ is not made.
I suspect a cultural pressure cooker is heating up.
Certainly not just in Wilder’s Netherlands.
Free speech–is a safety valve.
What eventually happens to pressure cookers when there isn’t one, and the heat keeps turning up?
The above is exactly the reason why this freak show (it’s not even a kangaroo court) will become even more embarrassing then the previous one. The defense will make mincemeat of the accusations and the court has to agree with that.
My sympathy lies with Mr Wilders. His personal, professional and family life is dominated by the need for constant security against the threat of physical violence and now he is to be subjected to the psychological ordeal of a trumped up court case. Should he emerge from court with anything less than absolute vindication in his favour the whole of Holland will need to hang its in shame.
God bless you Geert Wilders.
Beyond Kafkaesque. They need to create a new word. Geert Wildered?
This is a farce, yes. This trial is a disgrace for Holland.
Almost too bizarre for its one sidedness:
“….they have worried after those statements, they had symptoms of depression, they were lying awake, wondering: will there still a place for me in the Netherlands in the near future? They feel that Wilders had caused all this worrying. And so do I.”
Works both ways:
I have worried after those statements, I’ve had symptoms of depression, I was lying awake, wondering: will there still a place for me in the Netherlands in the near future? I feel that Muslims have caused all this worrying. I think about that all the time.”
See? Fixed it.
Europe does not have free speech. It’s very unfortunate. Freedom of speech is vital – not only for those critical of Islam but also the strongest adherents to the faith. One only needs to take a quick look at history (and even modern times) to see that censorship and punishment of free speech are some of the most dangerous enemies of democracy and a free, just society. Dark times ahead for Europe. I live in a country which is a member of the EU, am in my 20’s, and genuinely fear for my future, let alone the one of my children. History repeats itself.
God bless Mr. Wilders for telling the truth about what’s going on in The Netherlands and all of Europe. I support him 100% because he tells the truth and is not afraid to speak out.
I thought it was bad in the UK but in Holland it seems worse, too much of the wacky-baci or just full nihilistic left wingers? Perhaps both.
I just don’t get why Mr. Wilders does not tell this kangaroo court and their henchmen to “[submit to being carnally known]” and just carry on his campaigning as normal. By subjecting himself to a possible verdict, he has acknowledged the legitimacy of this process, and has become complicit in it. He should simply ignore them, and treat any attempt to arrest him as an politically-motivated attempted kidnapping and/or assassination, and have his bodyguards respond accordingly. As I have said before, he should hire a bunch of ex-SADF or Rhodesian SAS guys (maybe ex-Spetznaz) as his bodyguards. The state would then be a LOT less inclined to [mess] with him…
But of course, I keep forgetting, he thinks he can secure his movement’s future from within the political system. I tell you all as BLM keeps reminding us, “not showing up for riots is a failed conservative strategy”.
The problem of when we show up for the riots is summed up by Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon: “Jacta alia est.” The die is cast.
Once committed, there is no turning back. If you show up and riot once, you will be singled out and given the full treatment of the law and continual harassment from the Bernies and Hiilarys, Black Lives Matter, Moveon.org, and probably traitor cowards [redacted] like Romney etc.. Once it starts, were one serious, it would not end until the government were overthrown or neutered and every single one of the “them” and “theys” killed. I mean door to door ethnic and political cleansing.
That is why “us folks” don’t show up for the riots. We know where it ends up. It has not risen to that level yet and would not if we got the same cover the commie filth get from the MSM. They riot, they get fame and praise. We riot they try to destroy us 24/7. If the rules change, count me in. If the rules don’t change, I for one will continue to wait until it is the gravest extreme and we eliminate all of them or die ourselves. No RINOs will be allowed a leadership role, and there won’t be no wine tastin’ afterwards I guarantee.
Is there something in the water? A full moon?
Where is all this muttering about riots and “eliminating all of them” coming from?? Watching too many European videos maybe? Rioting is not smart strategically…what does it accomplish??
The rules are in constant flow…it’s the information that remains key.
I don’t know what the future holds, but no one here is going to advocate violence. That’s not our interest and it’s a distraction from real change. I want to see America’s sovereignty restored, the rule of law rehabilitated, and the political class put in its proper place. I want crony capitalism to be brought to a halt – as much as possible by nailing shut the swinging doors between/among politicians, lobbyists, academia, and MSM/infotainment. No one should be able to enter politics and enrich themselves as this president and Clinton have done, not to mention their hangers-on.
As Robert Hunter’s lyrics put it:
Out of ninety-nine people all running around
Not one in a hundred got his feet on the ground
You find one in a thousand holding some in reserve
For when the real true action comes around the curve
Chorus
But if you’re in a hurry, and really got to go
If you’re in a hurry, might have to find out slow
That it’s one thing to try and another to fly
You get there quicker just a step at a time
It’s one thing to bark, another to bite
The show ain’t over till you pack up at night
Take care of your people, get some of them fed
Hide the ones in trouble out under your bed
Keep an eye to the future, an ear to the past
After thinking it over, notice nothing much lasts
[chorus]
Don’t ever let it get the best of you
Plan what you can, and let the rest shine through
Just so many angles you can possibly see
Figure on those, let the other ones be
Don’t be out collecting more than you need
Got a lot of things growing but keep watching those seeds
Got to share in December what you planted in May
If the harvest is empty, find some other good way…
Witness “C”: “I did not feel discriminated against, I just did not want any fitna, any riot. I do think that he is allowed to say whatever he wants, but we should also be allowed to say what we want.”
No – you should not be allowed to say what you want. And yes, you should be discriminated against. This is not your continent and European peoples must always have priority over you.
Please “stick to your guns” Mr Wilders, you are championing a very important cause, and it is important that your message reach as many people as possible.
Sam Stevens
Toronto
We have not had a decent ‘Show Trial’ since Bukarin in 1938, it is a shame that the Dutch justice system has sunk so low as to revive this filthy practise, a practise made famour by Jo Stalin and copied by the Nazis in 1944.
I just hope that this in this one the result is not already decided. I am still not happy about those strange deaths of (only) Serbian ‘war criminals’ at the Hague
http://tenc.net/yugo.htm#5
Ah, Mr. Numan can tell us lots about Dutch “justice”. Kind of shows you why the adjective “Dutch” came to be used as a pejorative. It’s a shame, too, since so many Dutch are good people. But their governance has long been scary – e.g., not needing a police force many years back because no one got out of line. No one dared do so.
Incrediblle, if it wasn’t so true you would think your were living a nightmare
There have been ‘trials & procedures’ like these before. French revolution, Nazi and Soviet tyranny. And let’s not forget Sulla, Caligula and Nero. Oh, and Idi Amin.
What speaks volumes is or are the judges. They could dismiss the case or refuse to handle it and pass it on. Will they remain in office when democratic, evenhanded procedures return? Same question about the police officers concerned.
And this affront to the fundamentals of democracy and justice – in Europe, 21st century. Incredible, like a bad SciFi story.
While undoubtedly a grievous PC offense, it has become more than obvious that Slobodan Milosevic was the only guy in Europe who even had a clue.
Muslims move through the Kufar market place. Have a nice rape here, make fun of a Kufar there. The pc of meat. Turkeys plain clothes army is here too.