A 44-year-old woman from Enschede has become the first person to be convicted for condoning the Holocaust since its inclusion in the Dutch criminal code in October 2024.

A judge at a court in Almelo sentenced the woman to 60 hours community service, half of which is conditional. She was found guilty of shouting abuse during a demonstration in the centre of Enschede in protest against anti-Semitism, a year after the attack by Hamas on Israel.

The woman cycled past the group shouting “Death to all Jews” and “Heil Hitler” several times.

When she repeated the insults near the local synagogue, police arrested her for breach of article 137c lid 2 Sr, which prohibits condoning, denying, or minimising genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The charges also included incitement to violence against a group.

The woman will not have to serve half of the sentence if she agrees to visit the synagogue within six months and presents a report of her trip to the rehabilitation service, the judge decided.