SCHIPHOL : Far-right anti-immigrant Dutch MP Geert Wilders appeared before a top security court Friday for a hearing ahead of his trial later this year on charges of incitement to hatred.
On his way to the tribunal, Wilders tweeted: "On my way to the courthouse. Nobody will silence me. No terrorist, no prime minister and no court." The case against Wilders centres on comments by the populist politician -- famous for his trademark peroxide blond hairdo -- at a March 2014 local election rally.
He asked supporters in The Hague whether they wanted "fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?" When the crowd shouted back "Fewer! Fewer!" a smiling Wilders answered: "We're going to organise that." The remark triggered 6,400 complaints from across the Netherlands, and Wilders even faced criticism from within his Party for Freedom (PVV).
"You are here as a suspect in a criminal case. You are not required to say anything or answer any questions," Judge Hendrik Steenhuis told him as the hearing started. Dressed in a blue suit, Wilders appeared relaxed, getting out his phone to take a video of the photographers jostling to take his picture.
"Racism and hatred towards foreigners are in direct contravention of the freedoms we have in a democratic society," prosecutor Wouter Bos told the court.