Justifying war crimes can be a criminal offence
In the media image: Mohammed al bardawil on Unsplash
Denying war crimes and genocide is prohibited by law in the Netherlands. Minimising international crimes can also have far-reaching consequences, warns Marloes van Noorloos, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, in Trouw newspaper.
Since October 2024, it is prohibited by law in the Netherlands to deny, justify or trivialise genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This provision was added to an existing section of a law that criminalised group insult. The amendment to the Dutch Criminal Code is intended, among other things, to criminalise Holocaust denial. According to the provision, the denial of other international crimes, such as the violence of Israel in Gaza, could lead to criminal prosecution.
‘The law is broader than you might think at first glance,' says Van Noorloos. For example, justifying war crimes is already punishable, without a court having to establish that those crimes were actually committed. 'That could apply in the case of Gaza. It seems clear to me that war crimes are being committed there on a large scale.' According to the professor, you do not have to deny the facts when justifying this: 'You could say, for example: if someone justifies the mass killing of children in Gaza, that can also be punishable.'
Going one step further is the denial or minimisation of war crimes or genocide. However, these crimes must first have been established by a court. Van Noorloos: ‘For example, if the International Court of Justice finds that genocide is occurring in Gaza, from that moment on you are no longer allowed to deny it.’
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Read the full article in Trouw newspaper (€)