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Senior government officials demanded a hard approach in the trial against 'malicious' Wilders

Top officials of the Justice department have been involved in the content of the criminal case against Geert Wilders. They urged the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to tackle Wilders as firmly as possible in the case of 'fewer Moroccans' statements.

'Scandalous'
The interference is very sensitive because it is a criminal case against an opposition leader. Until recently, the Justice department and the OM denied any form of substantive consultation and coordination on the Wilders case. The PVV leader reacts with astonishment to the new revelations and calls it 'outrageous'.

The documents now show that officials fed the OM with arguments against Wilders, who was an opponent of the then minister, VVD member Ivo Opstelten. They call his statements "malicious" and "racist." When these officials have read a very confidential official message from the Board of Procurators General to Minister Opstelten of 10 September 2014, one of them wonders: "Is the OM convinced of the desirability and feasibility of prosecution?"

No reason for criminal case
They advise the Public Prosecution Service to go into it legally. The reason for this is the discussion within the OM about the case. The Public Prosecutor in The Hague even wanted to dismiss the criminal case concerning the first 'fewer Moroccans' ruling on 12 March 2014, as it turned out last week, more than five years later. And the public prosecutor's own experts, from the National Discrimination Expertise Center, also saw no good reason for a criminal case in the statements on the election evening of 19 March 2014. They found the statements 'not unnecessarily offensive'.

The top officials thought that Wilders should not only be prosecuted for the election evening statements, but also had to be tackled for the first statement, because otherwise the whole 'legally substantive' case would not be sustainable.

"I would leave this to the judge and put as few restrictions as possible in what you submit to the judge." The officials also provide a series of legal advice, including on how the Public Prosecutor should deal with the likely arguments of the defense. Literally: "I have already discussed a number of points with the colleague of the Pag (public prosecutor, the Public Prosecution Service, ed.) Today." And: "I will pass on the points that you mention to the colleague of the OM."

'Unimaginable'
Wilders announces that he and his lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops will again ask the Court to stop the trial. The appeal will be served again on Tuesday. Wilders: "It is inconceivable that the Ministry of Justice has dealt with my case in detail. It’s a disgrace, a political reckoning by the VVD minister and his department.’’

Read more on the website of RTLnieuws.