RUTHFULLY YOURS

Wilders in Amsterdam Court at start of trial

Geert Wilders has opted to be silent throughout his trial which began in Amsterdam this morning. This legal tactic by Wilders’ lawyer Bram Moszkowicz resulted in the trial being suspending until further notice.

Watch this Radio Nederland video report on Wilders’  and Dutch Lawyer Moszkowicz’s comments at the trial opening.

As Wilders noted in his brief remarks Freedom of Speech is on trial.  He noted in his brief comments:

“As far as I’m concerned, Freedom of Speech is Inviolable”

The Radio Nederland report about Wilders’ trial drew attention to the dramatic  confrontation with the trial judges at the trial opening, the charges against Wilders of alleged ‘hate speech” and his role in the new minority government in the Hague Parliament.

The trial of Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders was suspended until further notice after his lawyer Bram Moszkowicz challenged the presiding judge after less than two hours on the first day of the proceedings. At the start of his trial on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims, Mr Wilders invoked his legal right to remain silent, which prompted the presiding judge to remark that the court also read newspapers and watched television, and that it seemed as though – as noted in the media before – Mr Wilders prefers to avoid discussion. Mr Moszkowicz said it was inappropriate for the presiding judge to give his interpretation of his client’s decision to remain silent. He pointed out that Mr Wilders is already facing a court ruling “which resembles a conviction”. The case against the politician was initially dismissed by the Public Prosecutors’ Office, but charges were filed following a court order issued in a special complaints procedure. The court rejected the accusation of bias and will not recuse itself, i.e. will not declare itself incompetent to hear the case. A separate section of the court will assess the merits of Mr Moszkowicz’s challenge to the presiding judge.