Wilders presses charges against Timmermans, alleges incitement of violence

PVV leader Geert Wilders refused to back down from his accusation that GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans was guilty of inciting violence against Wilders. The allegation stems from a speech Timmermans gave to party members on Saturday.

Wilders pressed charges alleging Timmermans incited criminal acts, according to a copy of the report his attorney sent to the Public Prosecution Service on Monday. Wilders was represented by Herman Loonstein, an attorney based in Amsterdam. Wilders already announced that he was going to press charges on Saturday evening, but said he wanted to first consult with his lawyer.

The far-right leader referred to one specific quote in the Timmermans speech. "People, our job is clear. We will stop at nothing to prevent Wilders from coming to power in this country."

In pressing charges, Loonstein dissected the Dutch wording chosen by Timmermans to suggest that he did not explicitly tell his supporters to only act within the limits of the law. Loonstein argued that Timmermans implicitly said that "anything can and will be used" to stop Wilders. As such, this "also includes any criminal offense."

He also argued that incitement may involve a call to violence, but it does not necessarily have to be a literal call to violence. It can also be made indirectly or implicitly, and Timmermans has "at least" done the latter, the report stated.

To complicate matters, the advanced copy of Timmermans' speech that was given to journalists used the words "niet nalaten," whereas Timmermans actually said, "niets nalaten." This was said to be a slip of the tongue. Where Timmermans said, "We will stop at nothing," the printed text more closely translates as, "We will not fail to prevent Wilders from coming to power in this country."

In the end, it doesn't matter which of the two phrases Timmermans said, according to Wilders and his lawyer. Timmermans' intention and appeal remains the same, "namely not to refrain from using any efforts to prevent the declarant from coming to power."

The lawyer claimed that the GroenLinks-PvdA leader took a risk with a statement that could incite people to commit criminal offenses. He referred to another populist politician, Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered in 2002 by someone who opposed his ideas after Fortuyn was repeatedly criticized by politicians.

Moreover, Timmermans is aware that Wilders has been under strict security for 20 years because there are people who want to act violently against him, claimed Loonstein. The lawyer also pointed out that Timmermans himself said in Vrij Nederland that a politician must be very careful with their words because of the power and effect they can have on others.

Timmermans himself immediately denied the accusation on Sunday morning, he said on X. He emphasized that his means "are always parliamentary and nothing else. I reject any other suggestion." At the same time, the GroenLinks-PvdA leader indicated that the PVV leader always immediately lashes out when he is the subject of criticism.