Dutch politician Geert Wilders can face trial on charges of inciting racial hatred, a court in The Hague ruled today.
Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said the case can go ahead. It will start at the end of this month.
The judge said Wilders was not being singled out, and that prosecutors were free to build a case that he had uttered discriminatory words as opposed to merely offensive ones.
He said the case will not affect his political freedoms or that of his party.
Wilders had questioned on television whether people wanted "fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?"
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The crowd shouted back "fewer".
Wilders then pledged to make this happen, leading to more than 6,400 complaints within his Party for Freedom, that he founded.
More than 50 people and five organisations registered themselves as victims of his remarks.
His party is high in the polls, running level with the ruling conservative VVD Party.
He has promised if he wins power to take the Netherlands out of the EU.
The case, which is likely to centre around the right to freedom of expression, and clarify where the line lies between offensive and discriminatory remarks, comes ahead of Dutch elections in March.
Earlier, Wilders' defence lawyer argued that freedom of expression was "the last freedom" Wilders had left.
In 2011, Wilders was cleared of inciting hatred after he compared Islam to Nazism. He was barred from visiting Britain as a result of this comments and had to be deported after he tried to come anyway. The ban was subsequently overturned.
Wilders tweeted today that he was being taken to court for voicing the opinion of "millions":
Prosecuted for voicing the opinion of millions.
The Netherlands is like Turkey. Displeasing political opinions are being silenced in court. https://t.co/L7mTufM6WL— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) October 14, 2016
He then added:
Verkiezingen: 15 maart 2017
Elections: March 15, 2017#PVV pic.twitter.com/Mgt7MunVjb— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) October 14, 2016
Additional reporting by Reuters.
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