The court ruled that group chat “jokes”, which were originally “Nazi ideologies… white supremacy”, were hate speech and that group chats are public spaces. A former Flemish parliamentarian was sent to prison for his actions.
The Ghent Criminal Court ruled that Dries Van Lankenhove, a former parliamentarian, “was infatuated by Nazi ideas” as well as “wanted to undermine democratic society”. It sentenced him to one year in prison and barred him from holding any public office for ten years. He was also ordered to pay a EUR16,000 fine ($17,500/PS13.700) and a ban on him being a member of the legislature.
VRT reported that the founder and leader Schild & Vrienden of the Flemish Nationalist Youth Organization, which advocates independence for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders to break away from the rest of Belgium in 2018, was involved in a group on Facebook where he shared alleged racist messages and memes, and expressed sympathy for Nazi ideologies. Belgium, along with many other European countries, penalizes those who deny or celebrate the Holocaust.
The defendant was obsessed with Nazi ideology which, in its implementation, caused and continues to cause untold suffering to human beings. According to Het laatste nieuws, the file indicates that he wanted white supremacy to replace democracy in society.
Van Langenhove’s legal team claimed that most of the messages in the group were jokes. However, the court did not accept this argument and stated that humor was used to reinforce racist views among those who shared the jokes.
The court said that “the forums mocked and ridiculed groups of the populace based on so-called race or skin color or nationality or ethnic origin, presented a negative picture of these groups and communities, and insulted” them.
WEF: United States Will Soon Make Hate Speech Illegal, Says EU Commissioner https://t.co/lNvK4gUnFD
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 19, 2023
The former member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives argued as well that, because the messages had been shared in a private group, it couldn’t be said that he publicly incited racism, discrimination, or hatred toward others. The court, however, found that the Facebook group, which had approximately 750 members in it, could be considered a public place.
Tom Van Grieken, the chairman of Van Langenhove’s political party Vlaams Belang, condemned the verdict, saying: “Belgian Justice is rotten from top to bottom.” Raping children between 13 and 15 years old? One year conditional. Want to share memes?’ “Effective for one year…This was a political process since day one.”
Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch political activist, also harshly criticized the ruling. She wrote on social media “This is the absolute status of freedom of expression in Europe.” They are jailing patriotic dissidents. The next time, they will do it to me or you, or anyone else who opposes the globalist regime.
I’m at a loss for words. We should fight this tyranny with all of our might.
Other people were elated by the ruling, including Green Party co-chair Nadia Naji. She said: “This is a victory for those who fight for equal opportunities for everyone… Greens won’t tolerate or normalize racist behavior because racism is everywhere and always reprehensible.”
