Dutch MP Gideon van Meijeren convicted of sedition for rallying farmers to violence

Dutch parliamentarian Gideon van Meijeren was convicted on Tuesday of two counts of sedition stemming from allegations he attempted to rally people to commit acts of violence against public authorities. This was deliberate, and with full knowledge of the unrest in the country at the time, the court said. He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service, matching the recommendation presented by prosecutors in the case. His sentence is unconditional, as Van Meijeren already said he would not abide by any conditions imposed by the court.

The first charge is related to a demonstration in July in Tuil, and the second is related to his remarks during an interview published on YouTube in November 2022. The court ruled that Van Meijeren leveraged his position as a Member of Parliament representing the extreme-right Forum voor Democratie so that he could incite aggrieved farmers into using violence during their protest actions.

"The suspect's speech on July 2, 2022, took place at a 'farmers' forum' in Tuil. Farmers were present who did not agree with the government's nitrogen policy and demonstrated because they felt their right to exist was seriously threatened. The suspect said that the government is depriving citizens of their fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights, that the government's nitrogen policy is unlawful, and that we are dealing with a tyrannical government. Later, on October 10, the suspect repeated his views on nitrogen policy in an interview with Compleetdenkers that was posted on YouTube," the District Court wrote.

His comments were roughly around the same time of intense public debate about the possibility that the government could either force farmers to sell their land, or seize it using eminent domain, as part of its policy to address nitrogen emissions levels. "This created feelings of unrest and insecurity in society," the court said.

It noted the threatening atmosphere when protestors gathered outside the home of Agriculture Minister Christianne van der Wal, threats made at rallies against the minister, police officers dragged while trying to stop a car at a protest, and bales of hay set on fire and manure dumped in public. All this happened within a short time period with the aggressive protests against Cabinet measures during the coronavirus pandemic, and violent political rallies in both the United States and Sri Lanka, the court pointed out.

"The court rules that the suspect is guilty of incitement against public authorities. The gist of the statements was unmistakable; that it is justified to rise up in violent rebellion against a government that is acting unlawfully because of its nitrogen policy and the proposed expropriation of farms. In such a situation, according to the suspect, it is permitted and necessary or desirable to depose the government by force," the court continued.

“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 said in court during the trial.

It does not matter that Van Meijeren also called for peaceful or non-violent resistance apart from this, as the message was clear when he spoke to his audience. "In other words, the suspect himself may even be a proponent of peaceful and non-violent resistance, but his audience does not have to be," the court stated.

"Even after he was confronted with criticism of his statements, he did not renounce this and, in fact, repeated it several times. It may be assumed that the suspect, as a representative of the people, was aware that some authority emanated from his words and that, for that reason, they could be acted upon sooner. The court, therefore, finds that, when making his statements, the suspect consciously responded to the existing unrest in his audience, with the intention of further inciting that unrest and leading to further violent acts against government authorities, in any case, to the continuation of the violence already committed."

Van Meijeren previously said freedom of speech was crucial to politics and society. “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.”

While Van Meijeren's role as a member serving in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, grants him latitude to speak out vehemently on political issues, the court said he presented "farmers with the possibility of a violent protest against the government." This crossed the line on what is considered free speech, the court found.

The MP had decried the "totalitarian" nature of putting someone on trial for disagreeing with the Cabinet's policies. “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.”