After the preparatory hearing, the Rotterdam court decided that the public prosecutor could try Willem Engel for provocation. A British lawyer had argued that the Virus Truth leader should never have been prosecuted, partly because he simply exercised his freedom of expression.
The court disagreed. This means that the substantive handling of the case against Engel will continue later this year, possibly after the summer.
‘mission to do’
The reason for the lawsuit against the Corona activist is the collective statement against him, which was signed by more than 22,000 people last year.
Engel is suspected of inciting a revolt, that is, committing crimes. He is said to have posted several provocative messages on Twitter and Facebook during the corona crisis. For example, this is a tweet in which he urged people to photograph “punchbus” employees.
A Facebook post about a nursing home in Goirle also falls under the indictment. In his post, Engel shared the telephone number of the nursing home, which was closed for visitors after the corona epidemic. “It’s a job that needs to be done every now and then,” he said. Later, employees received phone calls and e-mails in which they were threatened with death, among other things.
“Completely random process”
British lawyer Michael Ruperti described today’s Engel case as purely arbitrary. In his opinion, the statements he has made should be seen as part of the public debate that freedom of expression is at issue here.
According to Ruperti, Engel certainly pushes the limits, but does not incite violence. “He has not engaged in criminal behavior in the context of public debate. That makes the prosecution incomprehensible.”
Telegraaf court reporter Saskia Belleman pointed out that Ruperti’s prosecution has not led to prosecution in other cases:
Source: NOS
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