FVD politician claims prosecutors cut his speech to make it look worse in sedition case

FVD MP Gideon van Meijeren claimed that prosecutors cut his speech in parts leading to a manipulated view during a court case in The Hague on Tuesday where he is accused of two counts of sedition.

The prosecutor is not being sincere, he said. “My comments have been unfairly taken out of context and manipulated to give a false view of my intentions. By omitting parts of the indictment, in which I explicitly advocate peaceful revolution, the Public Prosecution Service has presented a misleading and incorrect image.”

Van Meijeren chose to make his own plea during the case. He started his defense by praising the freedom of speech. “Not just a right but the foundation from which other freedoms arise,” he said. “The truth cannot win without this freedom, and the powers that be cannot be held accountable.”

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended 200 hours of community service against Van Meijeren. Van Meijeren suggested that violence against the government is permitted and maybe even necessary. Prosecutors said that he "crossed a criminal line" with the statements.

The first moment was on July 2, 2022, during a farmer's event in Tuil, Gelderland. The politician called for violence against the government if farmer companies were to be expropriated. The OM claims that Van Meijeren knew directly after the speech that a part of the crowd would see his comments as a call for violence.

The second incident concerns comments that he made during an interview on November 13, 2022, which were published on the internet. In that conversation, he urged people to go to parliament to overthrow the government. He did say that he hoped that this revolution would happen peacefully.

The MP thinks that his words and intentions have been twisted. "My comments cannot possibly be seen as sedition." He asked the court to acquit him.

He added that he wants to respect the law in his parliamentary work in which he sticks up for minorities and wants to warn of “totalitarian tendencies.” He said that he was calling for people to be alert to this. “I deeply disapprove of the use of violence. This is why it does not feel real that I am here because I am deemed to have called for violence against the government.”

In his last words, Van Meijeren said, "Regardless of the outcome, I will continue the fight to restore our democracy unabated. I would not see a conviction as an end of my mission." He told the court, "You are not only deciding my faith but the freedom of speech for all Dutch people."

The OM said that Van Meijeren knew that anti-government sentiment was brewing when he made the comments. The prosecutor claims that he was riling people up.

The prosecutor added that politicians are free to express their opinions but that it does need to stay within the law. "It should be noted that the suspect has not taken responsibility for this and continues not to do so."

Van Meijeren played into the lack of faith in the government due to coronavirus measures and the nitrogen issues, according to the OM. They think Van Meijeren's statements must be assessed in this context of heated emotions. "Parts of his crowd took these words as a call for violence."

The court ruling will be on June 11.