Dutch Court Finds Geert Wilders Guilty of Incitement to Discrimination, Insulting Moroccan Immigrants

Freedom of speech has been delivered a deadly blow in the Netherlands today, as a Dutch court has found politician Geert Wilders guilty of “incitement to discrimination” and “insulting specific groups of people,” by which the court means Moroccan immigrants. Although he will receive no punishment other than a guilty verdict, the populist leader has announced that he’ll appeal. After all, he now has a criminal record. And for what? For saying something the political establishment and politically correct media consider to be “rude” and “unacceptable.”

Just to be clear, like many others I thought his call for “fewer” Moroccans was rather indecent and ill mannered. He was standing in front of a crowd and having them cheer him on. “Do you want more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands?” he asked his supporters back in 2014. “Fewer, fewer, fewer,” they chanted back. “I’ll get it done,” he promised.

Immediately afterwards, pro-immigration groups and leftist hacks said Wilders had acted illegally and should be prosecuted. Thousands of (mostly) immigrants filed police reports, demanding his prosecution. These self-declared victims were cheered on by the progressive media, which realized that this was the grand opportunity they were waiting for ever since Wilders founded the PVV (Party for Freedom), his populist and anti-immigration political party.

From the very first day of the “controversy,” the left went all out. It was so bad that the police actually produced pre-written reports. Self-declared “victims” of Wilders’ “hate speech” merely had to sign those reports; they didn’t have to share their own personal stories. In the end, thousands of politically correct wannabe victims contacted the police.

The trial started last month. It was clear from the very first moment that the prosecution and the judges opened their mouths that Wilders would be found guilty. It was a show trial even Joseph Stalin would have been proud of. Wilders defended his right to freedom of speech, but the prosecutors and the judges would have none of it. He was destined to lose.

As already mentioned, the relatively good news is that although Wilders was found guilty he has not received an official punishment. But that’s not much to brag about it. I’m 100 percent sure the court came to that decision only to minimize the fallout; Wilders’ voters (and many others who simply support freedom of speech) would, the court undoubtedly feared, go ballistic. A “conviction without punishment” might limit the damage somewhat, or so they probably thought.

Well, I’ve got bad news for the court: That’s not how this is going to play out. Dutch voters have had enough of the iron-fisted rule of political correctness.

Meanwhile, Wilders has responded to the verdict. In his statement, the populist politician explains that he’s not going to be silenced by anyone, least of all a couple of politically correct judges with no respect for basic human rights. What’s more, Wilders rightfully points out that while he “asked a question about Moroccans” and is now deemed a criminal because of it, Moroccan youths continue to make headlines in the Netherlands because they systematically terrorize entire neighborhoods. Are they punished for it? Of course not. “They didn’t even have to pay a fine,” Wilders says about a group of Moroccan “asylum seekers” who wreak havoc in public buses in the city of Emmen.

Wilders continues:

The Netherlands has become a sick country.

It’s a statement only the fascist forces of political correctness can find fault with. As for me, I couldn’t agree more. The Netherlands, once a beacon of human rights and individual freedom, has become a ridiculous little country in which self-declared victims determine what we can and can’t say. It’s pathetic, and we’ve got the institutional left to “thank” for it.

Wilders also lashes out at the judges who convicted him:

I have a message for the judges who convicted me. You have restricted the freedom of speech for millions of Dutch and, hence, convicted everyone. No one trusts you anymore. But, fortunately, truth and liberty are stronger than you. And so am I.

Watch it: