A magistrate in Amsterdam sentenced 47-year-old Regilio A. on Monday to a fine of EUR 400 for seriously insulting Queen Beatrix and a police officer. It is the first time in years that someone has been taken to court and penalised for insulting the monarch.
The man will also have to serve a seven-day prison sentence he was provisionally imposed earlier. The justice department wanted him to be sentenced to an additional two weeks in prison for his insulting comments. The maximum sentence for lèse majesté is five years in prison.
| He spoke insultingly of the monarch using sexually explicit language and racist comments. |
A. got into an argument with police officers on bicycle in Amsterdam on 7 June. He performed a Nazi salute, called a police officer a "rotten bastard," and called out "I hate your queen. The queen of the Netherlands is a whore." He then spoke insultingly of the monarch using sexually explicit language and racist comments.
The man's lawyer says that A., originally from Surinam, was confused and under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and that he did not insult the queen personally but as representative of the Dutch people.
| Oh, so that makes it better? |
"His feelings of revenge and hate towards white people put him under such pressure that he could not help but utter those words."
Why the poor dear! See what you nasty Euros his revenge and hate made him do!
| I'm sure he'd do well on a plane back to Surinam ... |
The court felt that authority figures should be somewhat thick-skinned in cases like this. "The queen as well." But the sexual insinuations make it clear that the man was not uttering commentary of a socially critical nature, the court found.
| So just stay free of the crude sexual insults and you can say pretty much whatever you want, A ol' buddy ... |
There have been few cases of penalties for insulting the monarch. There have been a few verdicts pronounced over the last years convicting individuals for insulting the crown prince, however. In 2003 two people were fined EUR 250 each for jeering at Crown Prince Willem-Alexander on the day of his wedding to Máxima the year previous. One had called the prince "dumb," the other had thrown a bag of paint at the royal carriage. |