Excerpts from Geert Wilders' Trial: An Expert Arabist Testifies

Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament, has just come out on the other side of part of his ordeal of being tried in his homeland on criminal charges of "insulting a group" and incitement to racial hatred and discrimination based on his numerous statements opposing the spread of Islam in the Netherlands. On October 15th, following a televised trial, Wilders was found not guilty on all counts by the prosecution, who have recommended that the charges be dropped.

Wilder's defense was that it is not a crime in the Netherlands to speak the truth. He petitioned the court to let him bring in experts in Islamic norms to explain to the court (no jury was involved) whether his statements reflected fact or bias. From a long list of potential witnesses, the judges agreed to review the testimony of two experts, one of them being Simon R. Admiraal, a Dutch Arabist, translator, and researcher. The testimony was obviously convincing to the judges prosecutors, and, if you are like me, you will find this testimony disturbing.

Below are videos of one of the judges reading Admiraal's signed affidavit, which I found at the Web site of the International Civil Liberties Alliance.  The first 5 minutes or so cover Admiraal's qualifications to testify. His own comments start then. Interestingly, this footage was not shown in the UK, where in 2009 Wilders was banned from entering based on fear that his presence would be a "threat to one of the fundamental interests of society."

Addendum: According to Dutch law, the prosecutors’ decision is not final. The judges' final ruling, which does not have to reflect the prosecution's recommendation, comes November 5.

Hat tip: Gates of Vienna.
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