title: ers fans care more about victories than kaepernick
text: dutch antiislam mp wilders to snub hate speech trial afp october   
  defiant dutch antiislam politician geert wilders said friday he will refuse to attend his hate speech trial next week dubbing it a travesty aimed at silencing him as the country prepares for  elections 
  the trial opens on monday before a threejudge bench with the farright politician facing charges of insulting a racial group and inciting racial hatred for comments he made about moroccans living in the netherlands 
  it is my right and my duty as a politician to speak about the problems in our country wilders said in a statement friday dubbing the case a political trial in which i refuse to cooperate 
  it comes as opinion polls have shown his farright freedom party pvv doing well ahead of march elections 
  after riding high amid the migrant crisis the party is now polling neckandneck with prime minister mark ruttes liberals each predicted to win between  to  seats in the seat parliament 
  set to last until november  the trial focuses on a comment made at a march  rally when wilders asked supporters if they wanted fewer or more moroccans in your city and in the netherlands 
  when the crowd shouted back fewer fewer wilders answered were going to organise that 
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  wilders said friday he would leave his defence in the hands of his lawyer geertjan knoops and instead go to work in the parliament in the hague 
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  judges earlier this month dismissed arguments by wilders lawyers that the trial was politically motivated adding they did not believe it will impact the pvvs election campaign 
  politicians are granted broad freedoms of expression because of their official position the judges ruled last month 
  precisely therefore politicians have an important role to avoid feeding intolerance by making these kind of public statements 
  wilders hit back friday saying it is a travesty that i have to stand trial because i spoke about fewer moroccans 
  millions of dutch citizens  percent of the population want fewer moroccans he claimed 
  not because they despise all moroccans or want all moroccans out of the country but because they are sick and tired of the nuisance and terror caused by so many moroccans 
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