Prosecutors appeal against soldier’s acquittal in anti-Semitic hate speech case

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will appeal the verdict from the District Court in Arnhem, which last month acquitted a 25-year-old soldier of the hate speech charge of group insult. The prosecutors think that the man’s statements regarding Jews “are punishable.”

Various WhatsApp messages were found on the man’s phone about Jews with images of swastikas and Hitler. There were also photos of the man from Naaldwijk, with one showing him doing a Hitler salute.

The court ruled that most of the statements were made in closed WhatsApp groups of less than 20 people, while the OM thinks that they were made in public. The OM had recommended 120 hours of community service.

The military chamber of the court did convict the man for illegal weapons charges. He has since been fired for owning brass knuckles, a stiletto dagger, and illegal fireworks.

He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and a fine.