The Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) is after all not going to prosecute cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot for discrimination. He has been in a state of uncertainty about prosecution for over two years.
The police plucked Nekshot out of his home in Amsterdam in May 2008 with an arrest team of 10 men. He was held in custody for about 30 hours. His home was also searched.
The case led to a big fuss. It was the result of a complaint that had been made way back in 2005 by the Internet Discrimination Reporting Centre on the basis of a complaint by radical Imam Abdul Jabbar van de Ven - known for his statement that he hoped politician Geert Wilders would die of a cancer.
The OM continues to find that the cartoons and texts are discriminatory with regard to Muslims among others. It has however decided not to prosecute, because they have no longer been on Nekschot’s website for a long time. Also playing a part is the fact that the case has taken a lot of time and the cartoonist was arrested with force majeure.
The OM indicated that the case has taken so long because the investigating judge has heard a cartoon expert and an Arabist, among others. This was done at the request of Nekschot’s lawyer.