Dutch prosecutors to appeal Wilders' sentence
Dutch prosecutors will appeal a court ruling against the far-right anti-Islam leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), Geert Wilders, which found him guilty of discrimination against the people of Moroccan origin.
"The public prosecution service finds that the verdict in regards to a fine needs re-examination," an unnamed prosecution services official was quoted by the NOS public newscaster as saying.
On December 9, judges found Wilders guilty of racial discrimination against the people of Moroccan origin in the Netherlands, but levied no punishment against him.
The court ruling said there was "insufficient evidence" to prove his words amounted to incitement to hatred. The judges also rejected the prosecution's request to impose a 5,000-euro ($5,300) fine.
Judge Hendrik Steenhuis, who presided the three-judge panel ruling on the case, said Wilders had planned inflammatory remarks beforehand and insulted the entire group of the people.
The lawsuit goes back to a 2014 campaign, when he led a group of supporters to chant that they wanted "Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!" Moroccans living in the Netherlands. A smiling Wilders replied to the chanting crowd by pledging to "take care of that."
Moroccan-Dutch people make up two percent of the population in the Netherlands.
Wilders, who has largely boycotted his trial, has said in a videotaped response to the verdict that the ruling was "totally insane."
He said the hate speech cases filed against him were abortive attempts to strip him of what he described as his right to free speech.
Wilders is reportedly leading in polls ahead of general elections scheduled to be held on March 15, 2017.
This is the second time Wilders is being tried under Dutch hate speech laws for inciting racial hatred.
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