Wilders: No chance at fair trial in race baiting case

PVV leader Geert Wilders expects that he will not be facing a fair trial when he appears in court for his "fewer Moroccans" statements sometime next year. Wilders' lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops said this in a statement to the Telegraaf. He is concerned about the fact that the judge has only allowed 1 percent of research requests of Wilders' defense. According to the lawyer, these requests include further research by experts. "The Defense has serious concerns about whether Mr. Wilders can perform an adequate defense in his criminal trial", Knoops said in the statement, according to the newspaper. "A correct representation of the context of Mr. Wilders' alleged statements is essential. "To present these to the judge, he should get the chance to do the research he has asked for." Wilders himself has drawn the conclusion that if the judge rejects all "reasonable requests, they apparently want to convict me at all costs", the Telegraaf reports. In short, he says, it seems that the judgement has already been made. "Maybe they should just sentence me in abstentia. For me, it makes little sense to go. If this persists, it is a political process and a PVV-hate process." Among other things, Wilders wants an expert to show that his "fewer Moroccans" statement was about nationality, not race and therefore does not involve racism. "I am convinced that if I now ask 'do you want more or fewer Syrians' nobody will take offense", he said.  He also wants to investigate whether the charges against him has been tampered with, but this was also rejected. According to Wilders, the rejections has become "blunter and more unfriendly" as the PVV is rising in the polls. In Maurice de Hond's latest poll, the PVV has 37 virtual seats, compared to 15 in 2012. Over the past six weeks, support for the party has shown gradual increase,  with the number of virual seats rising from 24 to 37 during that time.