A Dutch court Thursday acquitted populist politician Geert Wilders of hate speech and discrimination against Muslims.

The Amsterdam court ruled that Wilders' anti-Islamic statements fell within the bounds of legitimate political debate.

Following the verdict, Wilders called the ruling a victory for free speech in the Netherlands.

Wilders faced five counts of hate speech and discrimination for the remarks on websites, Internet forums and in Dutch newspapers.

Wilders compared the Koran to Hitler's “Mein Kempf.”

The judge said the court found Wilders' statements criticized Islam as a religion and not Muslims as people.