On Tuesday, the Rotterdam court imposed months-long prison sentences on two men for continuing the banned pedophile association Martijn. Former chairman Martijn U. has been sentenced to six months in prison, his co-defendant Norbert de J. to four months. The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a year in prison for both suspects.
Pedophile association Martijn was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014 because the organization glorified sex with children. At the time, the Supreme Court emphasized that the right to freedom of expression is not unlimited and that Martijn had to give way to the obligations that the Netherlands has under the international treaty for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Also read the report of the session: ‘Glorifying sex with children is not freedom of expression†
According to the Rotterdam court, the two men do not respect the Supreme Court’s decision and they continued the Martijn association by making statements on websites, via a mailing list and via social media that downplay and deny the harmfulness of sexual contact between children and adults.
The court refers to the shocking, reprehensible and socially undesirable character of the ideas propagated by the suspects, but emphasizes that this cannot be equated with child abuse or inciting it. The two men were never convicted of sexual offenses and had no criminal records.
Old law article
The suspects have been prosecuted and convicted under an old but rarely used section of the law that criminalizes continuing the activities of a banned organization with a maximum of one year in prison. That legal route has been in existence since 1988, but has only been used twice since then with varying degrees of success: last year, against two former members of banned motorcycle clubs who wore club clothing.
#Prison #sentences #continuing #banned #pedophile #association #Martijn