The lawyer of anti-Islam campaigner and MP Geert Wilders will on Friday urge judges  to halt the discrimination case against his client, in the latest in a string of legal procedures before the start of the main hearings.

Wilders is on trial for discrimination and inciting hatred after leading supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant after the local elections in March 2014. The case is being heard at the high security court at Schiphol airport.

Lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops will on Friday urge the court to stop the proceedings against Wilders immediately, broadcaster NOS said.  Lawyers are able to do this if they officials are not competent to bring the case or have not stuck to the rules when preparing the process.

Knoops has twice been given an extension when preparing his arguments. In particular, he is known to be concerned about the way complaints against Wilders were solicited en masse, news agency ANP said.

Full trial

Judges will not decide on the application today. If they do reject the claim, the main trial will start at the end of October. Nine days have been set aside for the hearings.

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. I

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.