Dutch cartoonist arrested for "hate speech" cartoons

[Paul Escobar]

Of course, but recall that neo-nazis can still get away with a whole lot, even in Germany.

True - prosecutions, much less convictions, for violating hate speech laws are quite rare, really. Which is why I'm honestly surprised by this news. You'd think the public prosecutor could find people more deserving of investigation than a freakin' cartoonist.

[KWill]

Of course, but recall that neo-nazis can still get away with a whole lot, even in Germany.

True - prosecutions, much less convictions, for violating hate speech laws are quite rare, really. Which is why I'm honestly surprised by this news. You'd think the public prosecutor could find people more deserving of investigation than a freakin' cartoonist.

The arrest was pushed ahead by the Justice Minister himself. It's quite likely that it's all some ploy to get less Dutch soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

[Reinder]

I don't see the connection here.
I rather think that the Christian Democrats and Christian Union parties within the coalition have been very hostile to freedom of expression lately, and the third party in the coalition, the Labour party, has been too weak to do much about it, despite its numerical strength in parliament. Indeed, for those of you who follow atheistic blogs like Pharyngula, you may know that they raised a big cheer over the appointment of the outspoken atheist, Labour member prof. Ronald Plasterk as Minister for Education, Culture and the Sciences. Plasterk has since gone on to appoint an even more outspoken fundamentalist as controller of public television, a man who was previously responsible for having references to evolution cut out of a David Attenborough documentary series and who has made some very ominous noises suggesting he is in favour of state censorship. It's like the Nixon Goes to China effect in reverse. It also doesn't help that the Labour party has a large Muslim constituency that needs to be kept satisfied.

Anyway... as a cartoonist living in the Netherlands, I'm keeping a close eye on this affair. I do find it very worrying.