AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — A Dutch political cartoonist, who works under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot, was arrested Tuesday and held overnight before being released.
A spokeswoman for the Amsterdam public prosecutor, Sanne van Meteren, said Nekschot remains a suspect in a continuing criminal investigation into whether Nekschot's work targets people because of their race or religion.
“We suspect him of insulting people on the basis of their race or belief, and possibly also of inciting hate,” she said.
Each is a crime punishable by up to a year in prison under Dutch hate laws — or two years for multiple offences.
Nekschot is known primarily for cartoons mocking Muslims and leftists.
However, a spokeswoman for his publisher describes him as a satirist who targets "any strong ideology."
Nekschot publishes primarily on several websites, including his own. But has also been featured on the Web site of Theo van Gogh, the filmmaker who was murdered by a Muslim radical in November 2004.
The cartoonist also works for HP/De Tijd, a major Dutch language weekly news magazine, and he has published two books.
One recent cartoon on his website caricatured a Christian fundamentalist and Muslim fundamentalist as zombies who met at an anti-gay rally and now wished to marry.
"He was arrested with a great show of force, by around 10 policemen," said the spokeswoman for the publishing company Uitgeverij Xtra.
She asked that her name not be used and declined to give Nekschot's real name because both the cartoonist and the publisher have received death threats.
Van Meteren said prosecutors were investigating a complaint that dates to 2005. They are now focusing on eight or nine published cartoons, she said, but prosecutors are not disclosing which ones.
Nekschot did not answer police questions during his arrest, she said, citing his right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination.
The spokeswoman for Xtra said police had seized Nekschot's computer, sketches, CDs, DVDs and telephone at the time of his arrest.
The Associated Press
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