‘Volkert’ teacher will not be prosecuted

The teacher’s Facebook message, in which he referred to the man who’d murdered Pim Fortuyn, led to quite some stir on social media. He also received death threats. Utrecht University, where the teacher works, immediately distanced itself from the content of the post.

The faculty of Humanities did decide the teacher would keep his job, with the condition that he will not make any similar mistakes in the next two years.

Inappropriate
The public prosecutor’s office calls the Facebook message inappropriate, but does not see it as a genuine threat to Thierry Baudet. The leader of the Forum for Democracy party had filed charges against the teacher. “To be persecuted for intimidation or sedition, one has to have the express intent to frighten someone, or to motivate others to commit a criminal offense,” the public prosecutor’s office says in a statement. The teacher merely wished to inspire a discussion with the person on whose Facebook page he had posted the message.

The decision comes to no great surprise to Utrecht University. “It was expected,” the spokesperson said. The prosecutor’s office had previously stated it would likely not prosecute the teacher.