Sylvana Simons

The VVD's newest parliamentarian Thierry Aartsen, who will replace Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday, is facing criticism about comments he made on Twitter in the past. Despite the controversy, Aartsen can count on the support of faction leader Klaas Dikjhof. As far as he is concerned, Aartsen is "most welcome" in the VVD parliamentary faction, NU.nl reports.

Politician Sylvana Simons is calling on advertisers to boycott RTL7 football show Voetbal Inside. In a Facebook post the Bij1 party leader calls the show homophobic, sexist and racist, NU.nl reports.

The Public Prosecutor demanded varying lengths of community service against five men accused of threatening politician Sylvana Simons. Against the man who made a video in which Simons' head is pasted on the bodies of lynched African Americans, the prosecutor demanded 80 hours of community service. Four other men heard 60 hours demanded against them.

The attempted coup in Turkey last year led to a significant increase of discrimination based on political affiliation reports in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch national association against discrimination LVD. Last year the association received 151 reports of discrimination based on political affiliation, compared to only 14 such reports in 2015. Most of these reports came from Turkish-Dutch, NOS reports.

Traditionally the Dutch labor party PvdA could count on most of the votes from minorities living in the Netherlands, but that no longer seems to be the matter of course, according to a unique survey by EtnoBarometer. Many voters with immigrant backgrounds will instead vote for new party DENK in this election. And the PVV is surprisingly popular among Dutch-Surinamese voters, being the second most popular party in this population group, AD reports.

The survey was done by market researcher Aziz El Kaddouri among 1792 ethnic minority voters.

Some 100 people gathered on the Bijlmerplein in Amsterdam Zuidoost on Thursday night to protest against the arrest of a 12-year-old boy on the square earlier this week. Activist Jeffrey Afriyie and politician Sylvana Simons were among the protesters. "Let this be the last tie we deliver our children to people that would rather lock them up than bring them up." Afriyie said speaking at the protest, AD reports.

Former DENK politician Sylvana Simons plans to advocate for fair hiring practices and against discrimination, not only based on race but also on sexual orientation, in her new party Artikel 1, she said in an interview with EenVandaag on Tuesday.

Sylvana Simons left political party DENK and is starting her own party called Artikel 1. According to her, DENK did not support her enough after she was threatened and she can not agree with the style of the party, she said in interviews with the style of the party, she said in interviews with NOS and the Volkskrant.

The Public Prosecutor is prosecuting at least 10 people for discriminating against, threatening or insulting politician Sylvana Simons, a spokesperson confirmed to NU.nl. Some are also being prosecuted for sedition. 

A 65-year-old man was found guilty of threatening DENK parliamentarian Tunahan Kuzu on Facebook and sentenced to 60 hours of community service by the court in The Hague on Monday. Half of the sentence is conditionally suspended, ANP reports.

A 37-year-old man from Kudelstaart was arrested on suspicion of making and posting a threatening video online about politician Sylvana Simons. The man turned himself in at a police station on Tuesday and he is being questioned, the Amsterdam police announced.

In the video Simons, who is a candidate parliamentarian for new party DENK, is portrayed as the victim of a racist lynching. Her face was photoshopped onto the bodies of lynched black Americans.