The slogan “White Lives Matter,” which was projected onto the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam on New Year's celebration is criminally punishable, said the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The words are not considered to be protected as a form of freedom of speech.

The OM said that the use of discriminatory hate speech was evident, "based on the context in which the statements were made, and their coherence."

Prosecutors went on to note the importance of freedom of speech as a fundamental right in the Netherlands. "But there are limits to that freedom of expression. One of those limits is that expressions may never incite discrimination or offend another segment of the population."