Amsterdam court files charges after judge's name and photo are distributed on social media

The Amsterdam court has filed a complaint after a judge was intimidated on social media. The court confirmed this to NRC , following reports by NOS and AT5 . The judge in question decided last week to overturn the decision by ministers Marjolein Faber (Asylum and Migration, PVV) and David van Weel (Justice, VVD) to deny three men access to the Netherlands. They were on the programme for the Ramadan Expo, which took place this weekend in Utrecht.

The judge ruled on Thursday that the ministers had not provided "sufficiently sound" reasons why the speakers' arrival would be a threat to public order. Subsequently, the judge's name and a photo were shared on social media, and the name of his spouse also circulated. The Amsterdam court is filing charges of "in any case doxing," a spokesperson said.

In an interview with local broadcaster AT5, the president of the Amsterdam court, Bart van Meegen, says that he finds it "very bad" that people target the person of the judge and his family. "This is absolutely not allowed and can really undermine confidence in the judiciary, the colleague in question and his family."

'A black day'

Asylum Minister Faber called the three speakers – Mohammed Hijab, Ali Hammuda and Abu Bakr Zoud – “hate preachers” who in their texts “condon violence”. After the decision to deny the three access to the Netherlands, the Dawah Group, one of the organizers of the Ramadan Expo, filed a summary proceeding and was subsequently proven right.

During his speech in Utrecht, Mohammed Hijab praised the judge who put an end to his entry ban. Minister Faber spoke of "a black day" for the Netherlands after the judge's decision. "Well, I call it a historic day," Hijab said after evening prayers in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, "now that the most anti-Muslim government in Europe has been curbed by some measure of justice. They try everything, they failed. And I know that they are listening attentively now."