The trial of anti-Islam campaigner and MP Geert Wilders centres on two fundamental issues – the ban on discrimination and the right to freedom of expression – the public prosecutor said on Friday.

‘This has an impact on the basis of the rule of law,’ the official said during a procedural hearing on the case at the high security court room at Schiphol airport.

Freedom of expression is not absolute, the prosecutor said. This means a politician has a special responsibility not to break the law. He dismissed accusations that the trial is politically motivated. ‘It is about fundamental values,’ he said.

Wilders is facing charges of inciting hatred and discrimination following a gathering with supporters in The Hague in March 2014.

During the meeting, Wilders asked the crowd ‘and do you want more or fewer Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?’ To which the crowd chanted ‘fewer, fewer, fewer’. ‘We’ll arrange that,’ Wilders said, smiling, when the chanting died down.

The chanting, and other comments made several days earlier, led to two MPs, MEPs and a handful of local and provincial councillors breaking ties with the PVV. The public prosecution department also received over 6,400 complaints.

Leak

On Thursday evening it emerged that Wilders’ lawyer’s strategy and main statement had been leaked to the AD newspaper.

That document showed that Wilders wanted to call prime minister Mark Rutte, his deputy Lodewijk Asscher, counter terrorism chief Dick Schoof and a number of other ministers and officials as witnesses. Those requests have all been denied by the court.

Wilders’ lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops told the panel of judges on Friday the defence strategy had now been compromised. He wants all legal proceedings halted until the leak has been identified.

Procedures

Friday’s hearing is a procedural one to discuss the investigation and decide if any more requests for witnesses and information are needed. Formal hearings will begin on October 31 and the verdict is due in early December, officials said earlier this month.

In 2010, Wilders was found not guilty of inciting hatred and discrimination at an earlier trial. Legal experts say the new case against Wilders is stronger than the previous one.

Wilders himself is due to address the court later on Friday.