The discrimination conviction of far-right politician Geert Wilders has been upheld by the Dutch Supreme Court.
Wilders, known for his anti-Islamic rhetoric, was convicted of insulting Moroccans as a group in 2014.
He called the trial politically motivated and demanded a retrial of his case after an appeals court last year upheld his conviction. No prison sentence or fine was imposed.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said his remarks were “unnecessarily hurtful” and crossed the boundaries of free speech.
"The conviction of the suspect, Mr Wilders, remains in place," supreme court judge Vincent van den Brink said.
"With that statement he offended an entire group of people... in this case because of their descent. The fact that he spoke as a politician, who must have the freedom to raise matters of general concern, even if they are disturbing or hurtful, does not make this any different."
"Politicians too must adhere to the basic principles of the rule of law and not incite intolerance," Judge Van den Brink added.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Wilders said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” and a broken legal system.
“They want to shut me up but I will never be silent," he said.
Wilders was convicted of insulting Moroccans as a group at a campaign rally, when he led supporters in asking whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the country.
“Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!” his supporters chanted. “We're going to take care of that,” Wilders told them.
Wilders, 57, is one of Europe's most prominent far-right leaders and has been a leading figure in shaping the immigration debate in the Netherlands over the past decade, although he has never been in government.
His Freedom Party (PVV) is the third largest in the Dutch Parliament and remained the main opposition party at general elections in March.
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Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
