The public prosecution department said it would not take legal action regarding a video made by the anti-immigration PVV party of Geert Wilders.
The video was released ahead of the recent local election cycle in The Netherlands but Wilders’ opponents argued that the contents were against the law.
In total, 17 people have made a formal complaint about the video which was broadcast on the public television channels. Prime minister Mark Rutte was among those to criticise the video when it was first broadcast.
The video, which lasts 2.5 minutes, features the words “Islam is…” in red, followed phrases such as violence, slavery, animal cruelty, forced-marriage, terror and deadly.
The words drip blood as they appear in succession on the screen. The PVV logo is shown at the beginning and at the end of the film; music is heard during the film.
The public prosecution department said in a statement however that it did not consider the video incited hatred, discrimination or violence because it focused on Islam as a religion, not its followers.
“Because the present expression in any case does not concern ‘a group of people’, it is not punishable under Article 137c of the Penal Code. The expression, because it is not about people, is also not punishable under article 137d Criminal Code (incitement to hatred or discrimination against people or violent action against person or good of people). Nor is the expression incited to any offense or violent behavior; in other words, the viewer is not encouraged or encouraged by the film to do something criminal. There is therefore no question of punishability under Article 131 DCC.”
Rutte called the video “tasteless”. He said: “I think I represent the bulk of the population if I describe this video as tasteless,” but he declined to comment further.
PVV leader Geert Wilders welcomed the public prosecutor’s decision, saying “the truth about Islam” would be seen again during party political airtime.
Soon again on Dutch National TV!
Public prosecutor says PVV Islam video does not incite hatred or discrimination – https://t.co/MlPjw8Uyae via @Shareaholic
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) May 1, 2018