London - Controversial Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders Tuesday won his appeal against the British government's decision to refuse him entry earlier this year. Wilders challenged the decision by then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, which led to him being briefly detained and turned back at London's Heathrow airport.
Tuesday's ruling by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal means the head of the Freedom Party, who has been accused of Islamophobia, could now be allowed into Britain.
He had flown to Britain in February to present his short film Fitna, which criticizes the Koran as a "fascist book," to a selected audience at the House of Lords in London.
Smith said at the time that his presence had the potential to "threaten community harmony and therefore public safety."
A British Home Office spokesman said the government was "disappointed" by the ruling. "We are disappointed by the court's decision today. The government opposes extremism is all its forms."
He said the decision to refuse Wilders admission had been taken on the basis that his presence "could have inflamed tensions between our communities and have led to inter-faith violence. We still maintain this view."
