New trial for Wilders on hate speech allegations (Roundup)

Feb 7, 2011, 11:32 GMT

Amsterdam - Dutch politician Geert Wilders went on trial again Monday over allegations he incited hatred of Muslims.

A previous trial on the same charges collapsed in October after a judicial review found the judges were not impartial.

A new panel of judges presided over Monday's proceedings at the Amsterdam district court, which dealt with procedural issues.

In a Twitter message, Wilders called the new hearing 'the second part of a political trial.' The case was 'about the defence of free expression for all of us,' he said.

The head of the populist Party for Freedom faces charges of discrimination and incitement, based on interviews he 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.

Wilders' lawyer Bram Moszkowicz claims the controversial remarks against Islam were legitimate under the Dutch rules governing freedom of speech.

Before the last trial collapsed, 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.

Wilders' party backs the current Dutch minority government of Christian Democrats and Liberals.

In return for his support the coalition partners promised to introduce steps to reduce the number of Muslim and non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands by 50 per cent.

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