Dutch prosecutors have declined to bring charges against the controversial parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who on trial for distributing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, but in a separate case found that a Holocaust-denying cartoon was punishable. The Prosecutor's Office had received complaints about Wilders reproducing controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet on his website, as well as their display on a television program. It had also received complaints about two cartoons published on the website of the Arab-European League (AEL) lobby group, one of which allegedly shows Jews denying that the Holocaust happened.
The Danish cartoons and their reproduction were not punishable, the prosecutors said in a statement. "The cartoons are about the Prophet Mohamed, but don't say anything about Muslims. None of the cartoons are offensive toward Muslims or contribute to hatred, discrimination or violence against Muslims."
The Holocaust cartoon "is punishable because it offends Jews on the basis of their race and/or religion." The AEL has agreed to remove the cartoon from its Dutch website, said the statement. "If it complies, charges will be provisionally dropped." However, the cartoon was republished on the AEL website following the statement by the Prosecutor's Office. On its website, AEL chairman Abdoulmouthalib Bouzerda accused it of applying double standards, adding that 'Given the decision not to interpret the Mohammed cartoon as offensive to Muslims, the decision that the publication of the AEL cartoon is liable to prosecution is incomprehensible.' AEL claims the cartoon does not express its views and is not intended to offend a specific group.
The Mohammed cartoons originally appeared in Danish newspapers in September 2005, sparking violent protests across the Islamic world.
In a separate investigation, Geert Wilders faces prosecution for inciting hatred against Muslims by making statements comparing Islam to Nazism. He made a 17-minute film called "Fitna" which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said was "offensively anti-Islamic". The screening of the film last year also prompted protests in Muslim nations. Several years ago, Wilders founded a populist party which campaigns against immigration from Islamic countries.