Wilders cleared on charges of attacking Islam

Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders was acquitted on Thursday on hate speech and discrimination charges for statements he made attacking Islam.

Geert Wilders au tribunal d’Amsterdam ce jeudi 23 juin 2011. Reuters/Toussaint Kluiters

The MP faced five counts of hate speech and discrimination for his anti-Islamic remarks on websites, Internet forums and in Dutch newspapers between October 2006 and March 2008, and in his controversial 17-minute film Fitna - 'Discord' in Arabic.

He also compared the Koran with Hitler's Mein Kampf and his film used shocking images of the September 11 attacks in the United States and other onslaughts against Western targets interspersed with verses from the Muslim holy book.

"The bench finds that your statements are acceptable within the context of the public debate," said Judge van Oosten. "The bench finds that although gross and denigrating, it did not give rise to hatred."

Following the judge’s decision, the 47-year-old Wilders, whose right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) lends its support to the right-leaning Dutch coalition government, said he was "overjoyed and very happy" to have been acquitted.

“It is not only a victory for me but also a victory for freedom of speech," he said outside the courtroom. "It means it is legal to criticise Islam."

The acquittal comes after Wilders last month argued before judges that he was "defending freedom in the Netherlands" against Islam.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, which include minority organisations and those representing Muslim interests in the Netherlands, said they planned to take the case to the UN's human rights committee or the European Court.