The men, aged 28-42, were convicted by a court in Amsterdam on January 12 for inciting discrimination against Jews. They received penalties varying from 600 to 900 euros and between 24 and 40 hours of community service.
NVU show their stripes
The four men joined a protest in Amsterdam by the Dutch Peoples-Union (NVU), a political party of the extreme right, in March 2016. The NVU had a permit from the mayor of Amsterdam to protest against left-wing violence and fascism.
The men were detained by police because they were carrying banners with messages such as "Combat 18," "Whatever it takes" and "Defend Europe." The banners with "Combat 18" and "Whatever it takes" were black and white with a white and red stripe in the middle, a reference to the characteristic colors of national socialists of Nazi Germany. The text on the banner was printed in a Gothic font. Two of the four men were wearing anti-semitic stickers, a picture of a typical Jewish nose struck through by a red stripe.
18 and guilty
According to the lawyer of the four accused, the men were not aware of the insulting and discriminatory nature of the texts on the banners or the anti-Semitic stickers. They defended themselves by stating that the sticker did not provoke hate, violence or discrimination against Jews. The nose would refer to Jews, but this would be in the context of supporters of Amsterdam football club Ajax, which they aimed to provoke, but not the insulting of Jews in general.
The judge in Amsterdam was not convinced by the reasoning of the defense and decided that the accused knew that their statements were insulting to Jews and incited discrimination.
Within the social and political circles to which the men belong, it is generally known that the number 18 refers to the first and eight number of the alphabet, the initials of Adolf Hitler. The slogans "Combat" and "Whatever it takes" express a call for action, and that any means necessary is legitimized.
According to the court, the statement "Defend Europe" is only discriminatory or insulting to Jews in context of the anti-semitic sticker the men were wearing.
Freedom of expression?
The jurisprudence of the Dutch Supreme Court states that the context in which a statement is made can take away the insulting or discriminatory nature of a statement, in case it supports public debate, a religion or if the statement is part of an artistic expression.
The scope of the context is formed by the right of the accused to freedom of expression as intended in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which includes the statements of the accused.
According to the Supreme Court, the statements of the accused are not made to support public debate, a religion or an artistic expression, and no violation of freedom of expression had occurred.
Moreover, the judge did not believe that the four men had incited hate and/or violence against Jews. It would be if the accused would have called for action.
