Monday, May 2, 2011

"I live as a prisoner." Geert Wilders closing remarks at the conclusion of his trial.

When considering Geert Wilders' situation it is important to remember that Muslims make up only 5% of the population in the Netherlands.

From Klein Verzet II:

Mister President, members of the Court. I recently tried to have Your Honors removed from the case for your refusal to register a statement of perjury against Mr. Hendriks. My challenge of the court did not succeed. I must accept that. I do wish to say, however, that I was more annoyed by another declaration of the President of the Court on the day of the official hearing of Mr. Jansen. He said that I was a free man, that I could not be compared to Mr. Nekschot because I was a free man.

Mister President, you could not be more wrong. For almost seven years now, I have not been a free man. I lost my freedom in 2004. I live as a prisoner with guards without you having convicted me. Without protection I am even less certain of my life than I am now. Mister President, you would not use the words “free man” if you could change places with me for one week.

Mister President, members of the court, I am here as a suspect again today. I have said so before: This penal case is a political trial. An attempt is being made here to silence a politician who speaks on behalf of one and a half million people and who already pays a heavy price for that every single day. Formally, only I stand on trial here, but in practice the freedom of speech of millions of Dutchmen is on trial.

This trial is not merely a political trial. It is also an unjust trial. When you look at the order of the court (to prosecute me) it is clear that the verdict has already been passed. The court has issued an order to prosecute me in which it concludes that I am guilty of incitement to hatred. The court has concluded that my statements as such are of an insulting nature. The court has concluded that I am guilty of the most serious charge: the incitement to hatred and discrimination. The court has concluded that it expects that the criminal prosecution will indeed lead to a conviction. Mister President, members of the court, the court has already done your job. Long before I was brought to trial before you, I was found guilty and was condemned. Hence my right to a just trial has been violated.

Alas, this is but the tip of the iceberg. Without any doubt, the judges who presided this case have conveyed a semblance of partiality. I have been denied 15 of the 18 witnesses whom I wanted to call. Every high representative of the judicial power has given his view on this case, and often to my disadvantage. But Counselor Schalken was the worst.

Counselor Schalken, who co-authored the decision to prosecute me, makes a habit of discussing my trial and arguing his case at elegant dinner parties for intellectuals. Counselor Schalken dined with my witness, Mr Jansen – note that he was one of the only three witnesses whom I was allowed to call – three days before Mr. Jansen was to be interrogated by the court. During this dinner Mr. Schalken TRIED to influence Mr Jansen. The fact that he did not succeed is irrelevant.

Mr. President, members of the court, stop this unfair, political trial. Respect our Dutch freedoms. If this trial continues, despite the fact that the principle of the presumption of innocence has been violated, and if I am convicted, not only my freedom will be infringed, but also the right of all Dutch people to hear the truth. The 19th century black American politician Frederick Douglass, the son of a slave, put it as follows: “To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”

Mr. President, members of the court, I end with a quote of George Washington, who said: “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” Mr. President, members of the court, do not let this warning become reality. Stop this charade, this political trial where I have already been convicted by the court even before I was a suspect. Stop it now. If you do so, and I passionately hope you will, this will benefit freedom of speech as well as the respectability of the judicial power and the rule of law.

Behemoth will perform in October!

"We've done over 100 shows so far to 'Evangelion'.
We're going to do another 100 at least."

Nergal

From Blabbermouth:

Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH will return to the live stage in October — marking the band's first public appearances since guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski was diagnosed with leukemia last August.

Commented Nergal: "I just came back from the first BEHEMOTH's gathering since my imprisonment. We were brainstorming about the future of the band. We wanna make sure our upcoming shows will be our best yet. Live performance must be raised to the next level. Set list will be refreshed pretty much. Some of the songs we have never played live...huh, lotsa work but we are more than ready to bite the bullet! Wait and see and be surprised! More info will follow soon..."

BEHEMOTH tour dates:

Oct. 08 - Poznan, POL - Eskulap
Oct. 09 - Gdansk, POL - Parlament
Oct. 14 - Krakow, POL - Studio
Oct. 15 - Katowice, POL - Mega Club
Oct. 16 - Wroclaw, POL - Eter
Oct. 21 - Warszawa, POL - Stodola

In a recent interview with Metal Sucks, Nergal stated about BEHEMOTH's upcoming touring activities, "The October shows are just to get warmed up. Then we might do some shows in Australia and Asia — that's the plan. Then the priority for early 2012 is a European tour, then shortly after that, a U.S. tour. This is our top priority for the next year and we're going to fucking do it!"

He added, "Just wait and see us on the stage. You'll see. I'm not going to reveal anything about it, but we … It's not gonna just be BEHEMOTH. It's not like time stood still for us, like we were frozen in time and are just going to appear with the same entourage and in the same outfits. No. We're going to come back, we want to remind people of our existence obviously, but we want to make a fucking impact, an impression. We want to show them that, hey, we are still fucking evolving. We're not just hoping that you'll come to see us because I was sick. Fuck that. I'll be better soon and we're going to deliver!"

Speaking to Revolver magazine last month, Nergal said, "We just decided to play some so-called comeback shows in Poland just to warm up and see how we feel, just to be onstage again together. And I really hope that it's going to turn out great and that it's going to cause other tours and stuff. We have plans until the summer of next year. We already have some cool offers. We're talking to our agents. There's some really, really cool ideas. I don't want to reveal anything yet, but once we're done with October shows, and we feel good about it, and there's chemistry onstage, we definitely want to continue the 'Evangelion' touring cycle. There's still some markets we didn't even touch. We've done over 100 shows so far to 'Evangelion'. We're going to do another 100 at least, and then we can focus on the next record.

"To be honest, we can't wait to hit the stage again. I'm so fucking anxious. I'm so excited, so psyched about it. I have dreams about coming back onstage. I dream about BEHEMOTH shows. It's insane, I know, but I can't tell you how much it's a relief to the band and how much it means to us."

Nergal underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure in December.