2023-07-04 18:43:59
A Dutchman was brought to trial on charges of insulting a group of people following he tore up a copy of the Koran in front of parliament and compared the Muslim holy book to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Edvina Wagensveld, 54, head of the Dutch branch of the German anti-Islam group Pegida, held his protest in The Hague in January, according to Dutch media.
In April, prosecutors announced the start of criminal investigations once morest a 54-year-old Dutch citizen residing in Germany, in connection with the incident that sparked outrage in the Islamic world.
“The Public Prosecution Authority has decided to summon the suspect,” prosecutors wrote in a tweet, adding that “he is expected to appear in court on August 10.”
Prosecutors pointed out that tearing up a copy of the Koran is not a criminal offense in the Netherlands, whose laws tolerate criticism of religions.
But Wachenfeld’s words can be considered “insulting a group of people, and this is subject to punishment under … the Dutch Penal Code, which states that publicly insulting a group of people because of their religion or belief is a crime.”
The penalty is a year’s imprisonment or a fine of 9,000 euros.
Dutch media reported that Wachensfeld tore up the Qur’an and then trampled on its pages, saying, “The Qur’an is a fascist book. It is something like Main Camp (My Struggle). Its followers embrace the same ideology as Hitler.”
Turkey summoned the Dutch ambassador following the incident, which also caused a threat once morest the Dutch consulate in Istanbul.
Hundreds of people later participated in a peaceful march in The Hague, rejecting hatred once morest Muslims.
A few days ago, a man in Stockholm burned a copy of the Koran in front of the largest mosque in the Swedish capital.
Granting Sweden permission for that protest angered many Muslims around the world, and prompted Turkey to block Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Anti-Islam Dutch MP Geert Fields, who was convicted in 2016 on the background of his comments once morest Moroccans living in the Netherlands, also likened the Qur’an to the book “My Struggle” and called for the two books to be banned.
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