The first day of the trial of Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, who is accused of inciting hatred against Moroccans living in the Netherlands, descended into farce Friday when legal documents from Wilders’ lawyer were leaked to the press.
The newspaper AD published documents showing that Wilders wanted senior politicians, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans, to testify.
They also show that two experts refused to appear as witnesses because they did not want to be associated with the controversial Wilders and feared for their safety.
Wilders’ lawyer, Geert-Jan Knoops, asked the court to investigate the leak, called for the trial to be suspended and said the newspaper could be sued. Wilders called the legal process “a mess.”
Fraude met valse aangiften – nalatig OM – pleitnota advocaat + strategie verdediging op straat. Wat 'n enorme bende. Proces nu al een farce.
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) March 18, 2016
Wilders, who leads the Freedom Party, is facing prosecution for allegedly asking supporters at a rally in 2014 whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands, to which the crowd responded “Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!” Wilders was then said to have responded: “We’ll take care of that.”
Wilders also referred to Moroccans as “scum” in a television broadcast. He denies any wrongdoing, and tweeted: “Nobody will silence me. Not about Moroccans either. No terrorist threats … no judge. Nobody.”
The trial begins Friday under tight security in a courtroom near Amsterdam, with protesters from the anti-Islam movement Pegida showing their support outside the court. The court will outline the planning of the case on Friday, the case will then be heard on October 31.
In 2011, Wilders was acquitted of hate charges, with the court saying his claims that Islam is violent by nature, and calls for a ban on Muslim immigration and the Qur’an, fell within the bounds of legitimate political debate even if they were offensive.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to a year and fined a maximum of €7,400.