Appeal starts in sedition case against far-right Dutch MP Gideon van Meijeren

Today, the appeal starts in the sedition case against parliamentarian Gideon van Meijeren of the far-right FvD. In June 2024, the court convicted Van Meijeren on two counts of sedition, ruling that he deliberately incited violence among farmers protesting against the government’s nitrogen policy, knowing what effect his words would have during the unrest of the time.

The court sentenced Van Meijeren to 200 hours of community service. The FvD parliamentarian appealed, arguing that his comments were edited out of context by the Public Prosecution Service (OM).

The statements involved were made in July 2022, during increasingly aggressive farmers' protests against the then-government’s nitrogen policy. Parliament was debating potential forced buyouts of farmland emitting large amounts of nitrogen into protected nature reserves. Farmers protested en masse, and protest actions grew increasingly extreme. Among other things, protesting farmers set bales of hay and piles of manure on fire, used their tractors to block Dutch highways, and showed up at the home of then-Nitrogen Minister Christianne van der Waal.

On July 2, 2022, Van Meijeren attended and spoke at a farmers’ protest in Tuil. In his speech, which was also posted online, the far-right politician “pointed out that it is permissible to violently resist the government if it were to expropriate farmers,” the OM said when charging the man. Van Meijeren told the gathered farmers that they’d never move the government to action with peaceful protests and by waving flags in the meadows, among other things.

The second sedition charge stems from an online interview Van Meijeren did on November 13 that same year. He speculated about overthrowing the government and said he hoped for a revolution that would occupy parliament. He said he hoped the revolution would be peaceful, but added that past examples show that there are often casualties.

During his trial, Van Meijeren argued that the Public Prosecution Service (OM) deliberately edited his speech to omit parts so that he would look worse. "My comments cannot possibly be seen as sedition,” he said, asking the court to acquit him.

The court ultimately ruled against Van Meijeren and sentenced him to 200 hours of community service, as the OM had recommended. The FvD MP appealed.