The Public Prosecution Service will no longer prosecute two women aged 23 and 24 from Rotterdam. The two were suspected of incitement for posting a cartoon on social media that a teacher at the Emmauscollege had hanging in his classroom.
The lawyers of both defendants had submitted an objection against the summons on behalf of their clients, arguing that there was no incitement. The court declared the objections sustained. This means that the Public Prosecution Service can no longer prosecute the women.
On a bulletin board in a Rotterdam high school hung a cartoon depicting a decapitated man in a Charlie Hebdo shirt sticking his tongue out at a jihadist. A photo of the cartoon was taken in November 2020 and posted online with accompanying commentary. The school and a teacher were subsequently very seriously threatened.
The women were initially offered an alternative settlement by the Public Prosecution Service but did not agree to it. Therefore, the Public Prosecution Service summoned the two women for the multiple criminal chamber.
In the months following the incident, seven more individuals were arrested for incitement and threats against the teacher and school. Of those suspects, two were sentenced to community service, one received a fine, a minor was referred to the Halt agency, and three cases were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.