Prosecutors drop case against Wilders over controversial election campaign post

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has dismissed the complaints against PVV leader Geert Wilders after an investigation into an image he posted on X in August last year. The image showed two female faces: on the left, a young blonde woman with the letters PVV underneath, and on the right, an angry-looking older woman wearing a headscarf with the letters PvdA underneath.

Wilders shared the image in August 2025 ahead of the snap parliamentary elections later that November. The OM examined the post from the far-right political leader in relation to Article 137c of the Dutch Criminal Code, which concerns insulting groups, and Article 137d, which covers incitement to hatred, discrimination, or violence.

The prosecutors said they see insufficient grounds to conclude that the image “is intended to insult a group of people, or to incite hatred, discrimination, or violence.” Complaints were filed by organisations including Bureau Clara Wichmann, WOMEN Inc., 14 Muslim groups, and the national anti-discrimination platform Discriminatie.nl.

Authorities also received around 16,000 reports concerning the post. The volume of complaints surpassed the previous record set in 2020, when about 4,000 reports were submitted over a Carnival party song titled “Prevention is Better than Chinese People” during the coronavirus pandemic.

After analysing the image, the OM concluded that it is open to different interpretations, including as a political message.

“The OM understands that many people in society consider the statements undesirable or offensive. However, the extent to which statements are undesirable or offensive is not decisive in determining whether criminal conduct has taken place.”