Populist anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders has been convicted in a hate speech trial by a court in the Netherlands.Wilders was found guilty of insulting a group and inciting discrimination after leading a chant against having Moroccans in the country.But Judge Hendrik Steenhuis resisted prosecutors’ calls to fine him €5,000 and said the court would not impose a sentence on Wilders.Instead, he said the conviction alone was punishment enough for a politician who has been democratically elected.
Rightfully so. A very sound judgment and correct application of the law, in my opinion.
I said his conviction was deserved and that the judgment was sound. Whether he should've been prosecuted and tried is something else entirely. The fact that it's a political speech doesn't matter either, as it was held outside of parliament.
That's not really true. Wilders gained 7 seats during the 4 weeks before his trial with 2 more following the week of his conviction. He's been gaining popularity steadily over the past few months and this is entirely in line with his recent surge in popularity. Not at all "dramatically risen" compared to what happened before, despite what certain headlines might have you believe. "The polls" are also a single online poll which is pretty notorious in the Benelux for its inaccuracy.
Geert Wilders convicted of hate speech
