Dutch prosecutor seeks acquittal for Wilders (Roundup)

Oct 15, 2010, 17:31 GMT

Amsterdam - Prosecutors in the hate speech trial of Dutch politician Geert Wilders demanded Friday that he be acquitted on all charges.

Prosecuting counsel said Wilders' remarks about Islam had offended many Muslims and could be considered an indirect incitement to hate, but were not punishable under Dutch law.

'I am unbelievably happy about this,' said Wilders outside the courthouse.

The charges of discrimination and incitement are based on interviews Wilders gave in which he described Islam as a fascist ideology and compared the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. Detractors have also pointed to his movie, Fitna, in which he juxtaposed images of the Koran with the 2001 terror attacks on New York City.

On Tuesday, the prosecution had asked for Wilders' acquittal on one of the charges, that of insulting Muslims.

The acquittal on all charges was sought in the final statement presented by Birgit van Roessel and Paul Vellemen to the Amsterdam district court

The court is due to announce its verdict on November 5.

The two prosecutors said it could not be proven that Wilders had purposefully and culpably incited hatred against Muslims. They said that, while it could be proven that Wilders had attacked the faith of Islam, he had never verbally attacked individual Muslims.

Before the closing arguments, Wilders had said that, should he be punished 'millions of people would justifiably lose their faith in the justice system.

'I insult no one. I don't incite to hatred. I discriminate against no one. The only thing that I have done, and will continue to do, is to tell the truth.'

The Dutch prosecution service dismissed a string of complaints against the politician in 2008, citing his right to freedom of speech. But the following year, appeal judges said Wilders should stand trial.

Wilders is head of the far-right People's Party for Freedom (PVV), which has agreed to support the minority Dutch government inaugurated on Thursday.

The pledge of support came in exchange for a promise to consider legislation to ban the full-body burqa worn by some Muslim women and to sharply reduce immigration from non-Western countries.