Lawmakers debate legality of cartoonist’s arrest
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Members of the Dutch lower house will debate on the arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot who was arrested and detained for 30 hours last week for publishing on the internet cartoons that some deemed to “exceed the limits of freedom of expression.” Party members across the political spectrum are questioning the arrest as a violation of freedom of speech. The Public Prosecutor’s Office still has yet to determine whether they will prosecute Nekschot.
Here is a list of new items that coming to light surrounding the controversy:
- After being released, Gregorius Nekschot, was told his true identity would be revealed. Nekschot used the pseudonym for safety reasons.
- The arrest was made following a complaint in 2005 that his cartoons were hate speech. It took three years for police to discover Nekschot’s true identity
- After his release Nekschot reportedly told the press: “Artists and cartoonists are gagged in the Netherlands. In Denmark they protect cartoonists but in the Netherlands the police arrest them.”
- Nekschot was a friend or associate of Theo van Gogh, a film director who made controversial movies about Islam and was murdered in 2004 by a Muslim Terrorist. van Gogh gave Nekschot space on his web site to post his cartoons
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