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Police form a line blocking Zwarte Piet protestors in Amsterdam. Nov. 16, 2014 (tui_tues/Twitter)
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Wednesday, 6 May 2015 - 12:54
Activist prosecuted over "fuck the king" statements
The Public Prosecutor will prosecute activist Abulkasim Al-Jaberi for saying "fuck the king, fuck the queen, fuck the royal house" during a demonstration against Zwarte Piet on November 16th last year. The Public Prosecutor feels that these statements were insulting for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.
According to NU, this was confirmed by Al-Jaberi's lawyer Willem Jebbink on Wednesday. The lawyer calls Al-Jaberi's arrest "disproportionate". "He was taken from the stage by the police. Police and Public Prosecutor have no understanding of freedom of speech and freedom to demonstrate." the lawyer said. He also does not understand why Mayor Eberhard van der Laan did not stop the arrest.
Jebbink wants the King and Queen to testify. "The opinion of my client comes down to: get rid of the monarchy. That is annoying for Willem-Alexander and Maxima, but it goes much too far to think that they therefore feel compromised in their honor. We now want to know from them personally if they feel offended or if they support the true pluralism and free expression of their citizens.
Al-Jaberi has to appear in the court of Amsterdam on May 27th. The hashtag #fuckdekoning currently trending on Twitter after the NU report on this matter.