Court releases suspect held for projecting anti-Semitic slogans on Anne Frank House

The District Court in Amsterdam released 42-year-old Robert W. on Thursday after hearing arguments in a hate crime case linked to the projection of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. W., who has both Polish and Canadian citizenship, will be allowed to await the verdict in freedom after spending 90 days in pre-trial detention.

The case was presented to the court on Thursday morning and afternoon. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended that the court convict the man on charges of coercion, defaming Jews as a group, and the publication of discriminatory texts. It asked for a sentence of six months in jail, and a restraining order that would ban him from the capital for a period of five years. The time he spent in pre-trial detention would likely have counted against such a sentence.

The verdict in the case is expected on October 19. By releasing W., it sent a signal that acquittal is a possibility, or that the amount of jail time ordered in a conviction could be equivalent to the time he already served. He was given permission to return to Poland where his Brazilian fiancée and their child reside.

In its case, the OM said that W. "very deliberately planned action intended to hurt others" by traveling the 1,200 kilometers from Poland to Amsterdam for the stunt. The perpetrator in the case is suspected of using a laser projector from some distance away to display his message on the façade of the Anne Frank House. W. was alleged to have displayed the text, “Anne Frank is the inventor of the ballpoint pen,” in Dutch, on the former Frank home and museum at about 9 p.m. on February 6.

The text is a reference to a theory used by Holocaust deniers to try to spread doubt about the Holocaust. It refers to two loose sheets of paper found in the diary decades after World War II, which were written in ballpoint pen, the Anne Frank House has said. An investigation determined that a researcher who was given permission to study the original pages of the diary left left his own loose notes while examining the text, as the notes are much more clear and new than Frank's journal entries.

Since the ballpoint pen did not become common until after the war had ended, far right groups have used the notes as a method to discredit not only Frank's diary, but any official figures regarding the number of Holocaust victims.

W. defended himself, saying that he was in Amsterdam from February 5 - 7, but that he was not involved in the incident at the Anne Frank House. He claimed he joined his fiancée and daughter as tourists walking around Amsterdam, taking photos and videos, including with a drone.

Witnesses said they saw a man use a projector to show the text on the Anne Frank House, and drive off in a van towards the Bloemgracht, where surveillance cameras caught the license plate. The van is registered to W., the OM said, who added that a drone was seen in use near the museum on Prinsengracht on the date of the incident. Police traced an identifying number for the drone, and matched it to one of two drones found in W.'s home. Footage recorded by the drone included video sweeping back and forth past the Anne Frank House.

In his denial, W. claimed he was looking for parking near his hotel room at the time the incident happened. He also said he was not the person seen in the drone footage, and claimed no knowledge of a Telegram channel where the video was shared with discriminatory and anti-Semitic song lyrics. A search of his computer showed it was used to visit the Telegram channel in February and March. “All I can say about that is that my fiancée also uses the computer,” he said in court.

W. was not arrested on the date of the incident, but an eyewitness did catch the license plate number of the van allegedly used in the incident. W. was arrested in Poland in April, but was conditionally released. One of the conditions prevented him from leaving the country. He was captured at Frankfurt Airport by German police for violating those conditions on July 8, and was extradited to the Netherlands in August.

W. claimed he was trying to fly to Canada to attend his father's funeral. Since his arrest, he has been prevented from seeing his daughter and his girlfriend, who also runs the risk of losing her visa, several reporters quoted W. as saying in court.

Authorities in San Diego, California also want to try the man on allegations that he assaulted his neighbor in 2021 while shouting homophobic slurs. Polish authorities are investigating him for inciting hatred and fascism. One image that went viral in September 2022 appeared to show W. and another individual holding anti-Semitic signs outside the Auschwitz Memorial.

W. claimed that the case stems from him disrespecting a monument. His lawyer noted that the cases in Poland and the U.S. were ongoing, and that he has not been convicted. However, he allegedly escaped prosecution in San Diego by flying to Poland.

Johan Mühren, who represented W., told newswire ANP that he was not surprised by the court's decision. "I have argued that the suspect has been in custody for too long. The court's decision means that my client will no longer have to return to prison after the verdict. The unconditional sentence that will be imposed will not exceed the three months he has already served so far."

Regardless of the verdict, both W. and the OM will have an opportunity to appeal the decision. Even if W. is convicted on all counts, the OM will have the opportunity to file an appeal if it believes the judges presiding over the case were not harsh enough during sentencing.