Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy was a guest on BBC Radio Five Live’s Breakfast show this morning, discussing the banning of Geert Wilders (right) from Britain, and its ramifications for free expression.
You can listen on iPlayer here (at 2hr 40min)
Dutch MP Geert Wilders has been told he will face arrest if he attempts to enter the UK. Wilders had been invited to London by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, and was scheduled to host a screening and discussion of his controversial film Fitna. But Mr Wilders yesterday received this letter (pdf), from the Home Office, warning him against entering the country.
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: ‘The Government opposes extremism in all its forms. It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country and that was the driving force behind tighter rules on exclusions for unacceptable behaviour that the Home Secretary announced on in October last year.’
This at least seems consistent: Almost exactly a year ago, on 14 February 2008, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi was denied a visa for entry to the UK, despite having visited previously as the guest of then London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Back then, Abdul-Rehman Malik wrote on indexoncensorship.org that support for the decision ‘reveals the extent to which Britain’s political class is uneasy and unsure about its own “values”, the strength of its democracy and the importance of public debate.’
Quite.
This case, though, if anything, is more worrying, as Wilders is a democratically elected politician from an EU member state who should, in theory, be entirely free to travel to another EU member state and express his opinions there.
Meanwhile, Wilders may still face charges in the Netherlands. Read Oliver Kamm on why he should be supported here.
It does not matter if you agree with Geert Wilders’s film, Fitna, or his politics. He must not be prosecuted for expressing his views, writes Oliver Kamm
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Controversial Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders will face trial in the Netherlands on hate speech. Wilders’s lawyers had attempted to block the trial, claiming that as a politician he should have protected speech. Wilders has gained notoriety for his fim Fitna, which compels Muslims to tear out parts of the Quran.
Read more here
Read Oliver Kamm on Wilders here