For incitement via Facebook and WhatsApp, 54-year-old Jan Huzen from Nieuw-Weerdinge was sentenced to six weeks in prison, of which one month is conditional. This means that the man must serve a prison sentence of two weeks. Huzen has now announced that he will appeal.
This is the third time that Huzen has been convicted of sedition. This time he called on citizens to help carry out illegal border controls. This happened in the period from June 7 to 20 last year. On June 20, Huzen was arrested and interrogated about the messages he had posted on his social media accounts. In it, the man stated that the German police were dumping asylum seekers on Dutch soil with vans and helicopters.
He called for the borders to be monitored at night. That evening of June 7, Huzen reported that the decision had been made to start border control in Ter Apel around half past ten.
According to him, the German newspapers also took up this problem, ‘hopefully there will finally be a decisive approach to the immigration problem. If not, then the civilian checks will have to be even bigger and more extensive.’
Justice initially saw reasons to prosecute Huzen for attempted coercion. The messages could also be read to force the government to do something, when it does not come of its own accord. There turned out to be insufficient evidence for this and the charges were dropped.
During the first interrogation, Huzen explained to the officers that cars stopped at the border were checked by civilians. The trunk and back seat were looked at.
Only the Royal Military Police (KMar) is authorized to carry out these tasks, the judge said. Huzen has thus called on citizens to commit criminal acts. “It was more than just a visual check,” both the public prosecutor and the police judge said today.
Huzen’s lawyer believes that border controls should be seen by citizens in the light of ‘symbolism’. According to him, there was no criminal act and he argued for acquittal.
The judge believes that Huzen has ‘crossed a line’. Not all messages that Huzen posted online could be labeled as ‘criminal’. Huzen was sentenced to community service twice before for incitement. “It’s been nice,” the judge said.
The punishment is equal to the demand of the public prosecutor. He also wanted a ban on posting messages on the accounts that Huzen manages with more than ten followers.
The judge finds this a step too far. “You must retain the freedom to post messages, and you must make that decision yourself,” the judge said. “You are doing your job,” Huzen told the judge before he stepped out of the crowded courtroom.
