Dutch MP on trial for 'hate speech'

Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician, has gone on trial in the Netherlands on charges of inciting anti-Muslim hatred. Appearing at the Amsterdam court on Monday, Wilders appealed for freedom of expression, saying he was a suspect "because I expressed my opinion as a respresentative of the people". "Formally I'm on trial here today, but with me, the freedom of expression of many, many Dutch people is also being judged," he said in reference to the 1.4 million supporters who helped vote his country in at third place in June. Wilders has been accused of inciting hate against Muslims through his short internet film, Fitna, which denounced the Quran as a fascist book and in comments made in Dutch newspapers and on Internet forums. He is facing five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.