Belgian Nationalist Given 12 Month Suspended Sentence
Belgian conservative-nationalist Dries Van Langenhove has again been sentenced on appeal to one year in prison as a suspended sentence for what the judge said were violations of the Racism and Negationism Act.The sentence stems from racist memes that were not even posted by him, but by members of a group chat he administrated seven years ago.The sentence was delivered today by the Court of Appeal in Ghent, although Van Langenhove does not accept the sentence, and the case now goes into cassation.
On X, Van Langenhove simply wrote, 'Guilty. 12 months in jail. Madness.'
Guilty. 12 months in jail. Madness. — Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) June 20, 2025
He later clarified upon receipt of the written verdict that the custodial sentence 'appears to be a suspended sentence,' which he suspects is 'most likely because the prisons in Belgium are literally full of illegal migrants.'
'Most people don't realize that the end result of such a sentence is the same. One politically incorrect tweet can now put me in jail. One meme sent by someone else in a group chat I am in can turn the suspended sentence into an effective one. This suspended sentence is the gravest form of censorship they could pursue and an effective way to kill activism,' he added.
I just received the written verdict. It's very long so it will take time to analyse everything, but the 12 month prison sentence appears to be a suspended sentence.The irony is that I have been fighting against mass migration for well over a decade now, and it has gotten me a… pic.twitter.com/8aeAxzXsLz — Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) June 20, 2025
Last year, Van Langenhove was sentenced to a one-year prison sentence and a fine of €16,000. He would also be sentenced to be deprived of his right to stand for election for a maximum term of 10 years, but he appealed this verdict in a lower court.
Van Langenhove ran a chat in 2018, but a broadcast from Pano news outlet showed how members exchanged thousands of potentially racist and sexist messages. This included several hundred memes or internet cartoons.
Van Langenhove contended they were jokes and indicated he did not post anything himself. Seven members of the group chat faced criminal prosecution.
Notably, the case in a country like the United States would have never gone to trial due to freedom of expression enshrined in the constitution. However, Belgium and a range of EU countries have not only beefed up hate speech laws but are also using them to prosecute political dissidents and anti-immigration activists, with Van Langenhove now one of the most high-profile targets.
After several delays, the Court of Appeal in Ghent delivered its sentence today.
Van Langenhove was convicted of violations of the Racism and Negationism Act, but the court argued that since the facts date from seven years ago, they merit a lighter sentence. The one-year prison sentence is fully postponed, and the fine is still €16,000. Van Langenhove will also not be deprived of his civil rights.
'It is a black day for free speech, for Flanders, and for Europe,' said Van Langenhove when he came out. 'Me, my family, and my environment have been terrorized for humor in a private chat group for seven years. Unfortunately, the court never wanted to listen to me, even now.'
The court, however, found that Van Langenhove cannot use humor as a defense 'if the real intention is to incite hatred.'
'In the private Facebook and Discord group, by the way, not only jokes and cartoons were sent, but also many other, ordinary messages that show that Shield & Friends (the chat group's name) apparently and repeatedly proclaimed discrimination and racism.'
The court argued that even though Van Langenhove did not send the messages, he was responsible.
'He didn't have it removed, even though he had the option to do so,' said the Court.
It rejected that VRT journalists manipulated the content of the messages, which Van Langenhove claimed.
The Court of Cassation will now review the legality of the judicial decisions, but will not examine the facts themselves. In most cases, the court determines whether the trial should be repeated.
'If necessary, I will then go to the European Court,' said Van Langenhove. 'I certainly don't give up the fight.'
Van Langenhove was on trial with five other defendants, who will receive 80 hours of work and fines of €1,600. However, two others will be sentenced to three years in prison with deferment.
One defendant who expressed regret was convicted, but his term will be suspended under separate conditions.
The case has been broadly watched as a litmus test on free speech conditions in Europe, with the European model focusing less on freedom of speech and more on controlled speech, especially on issues related to race, sex, and immigration.
Furthermore, questions have been raised about how access was obtained to the chat group in the first place, with allegations that a hack attack was conducted.
Also read: Belgian Cyclist Completes Epic 9-Country Journey To Perform Hajj In Mecca
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Europe's LNG Gamble Exposed By Middle East War
The Israel-Iran conflict has driven up diesel, jet fuel, and gas prices. With 20% of global LNG flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, even threats of disruption have raised EU gas prices by 20%. Europe's refusal to sign long-term LNG deals or develop local hydrocarbon resources is backfiring. Oil and the security of its supply have stolen the media spotlight in the context of the new Middle East war, and with good reason. Ever since Israel first bombed Iran, diesel prices have soared, jet fuel prices have soared, and importers have been troubled. For Europe, the situation is even worse due to natural gas. Europe has been hurt more than others by the diesel price surge because it has boosted its imports considerably over the past years. About 20% of the diesel Europe consumes comes from imports, and a lot of these imports come from the Middle East. The situation is not much different in jet fuel. Europe depends on imports and a solid chunk of these imports comes from the Middle East. What's true of these essential fuels is doubly true of natural gas—even though direct imports of gas from the Middle East constitute a modest 10% of total imports. Yet they constitute a substantial portion of global gas exports, so any suggestion of disrupted supply affects gas prices in exactly the same way it has affected oil prices—and makes a vital commodity less affordable for Europeans. The latest import figures from the European Commission, for 2024, show that Norway was the EU's biggest supplier of natural gas via pipeline, and the United States was its biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas. Other large suppliers of LNG included—awkwardly—Russia, with 17.5% of the total inflows of LNG, and Algeria, with 10.7%. Qatar's share in EU LNG imports stood at 10.4%, largely because Qatar prefers to deal in long-term contracts, and European Union planners don't. Yet it is not these 10.4% that matter. It is the fact that around 20% of global LNG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz and Iran threatened to close the waterway in response to Israeli and U.S. attacks. This prompted a jump in European natural gas prices by a fitting 20% per the Financial Times, which highlighted the dangers of import dependence in energy commodities. To be fair, the European leadership is aware of these dangers. They are one reason for many European leaders' near-obsession with the energy transition, on the assumption that wind and solar would be able to provide local energy—which is true—and that this energy can replace that provided by gas—which is not true. The latter was proven rather conclusively by the April 28 events in Spain, although it will be a while before the facts become accepted. In the meantime, Europe is in for more suffering, even if Iran doesn't close the Strait of Hormuz, which for the time being seems to have been taken off the table amid ceasefire efforts. The reason is that Europe needs to refill its gas storage caverns for next winter. Even if it cancels the 90% refill rate requirement, it still needs to buy a lot of gas, most of it on the spot market because of that aversion to long-term gas commitments it believes is part and parcel of the transition effort. And geopolitics has made LNG costlier—which will add billions to the refill bill. Earlier this year, it became clear that Europe's bill for natural gas would be higher this year than last because the winter of 2024-25 was colder and storage levels fell lower than in the previous two years. So, this year, Europe needs to buy more gas, adding some $11.2 billion to its total tab. But that was before the latest Middle Eastern war broke out. Now, the tab has gone further up—and Europe is already struggling with high energy costs, not least because of its dependence on LNG imports. Once again, then, Europe would need to rely on luck. If it is lucky, demand for liquefied natural gas from Asia will remain tepid, as it has been over the first half of the year. If it is lucky, the war between Israel and Iran will be over within the month, removing the supply disruption premium from LNG prices. If it is lucky, finally, winter 2025-26 will be as mild as winter 2023-24 and gas demand will be lower. Even if Europe gets lucky on all three, however, the cost of its energy will remain elevated compared to places such as China and the United States—its main business rivals. The reason is as simple as it is unpalatable for European political decision-makers: local supply. Both the U.S. and China are putting their local natural gas resources to good use. Europe isn't, although in all fairness, it doesn't have as much of an easily accessible gas resource abundance as either the U.S. or even China. The staunch refusal to develop any hydrocarbon resources locally, however, is as counterproductive as the refusal to make long-term LNG supply commitments. It is a refusal to acknowledge the reality of energy demand and supply. The sooner Europe gets over this, the better for energy supply security.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Spain PM labels Gaza situation ‘genocide'
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a 'genocide', as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 56 people. After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million face famine-like conditions. Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following a blockade of more than two months, but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations. Israel meanwhile is pressing its bombardment of the territory, in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating militant group Hamas -- whose unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war. Spain's Sanchez said Gaza was in a 'catastrophic situation of genocide' and urged the European Union to immediately suspend its cooperation deal with Israel. The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive who is one of the first European leaders, and the most senior, to use the term 'genocide' to describe the situation in Gaza. Speaking ahead of an EU summit in Brussels, Sanchez mentioned an EU report which found 'indications' Israel was breaching its rights obligations under the cooperation deal, which forms the basis for trade ties. The text cited Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory, the high number of civilian casualties, attacks on journalists and the massive displacement and destruction caused by the war. The spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, said Israeli forces killed 56 people yesterday, including six who were waiting for aid in two separate locations. The Israeli military said its troops had 'fired warning shots' in order to prevent 'suspects from approaching them' near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, where Palestinians gather each night for rations.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
NATO agrees ‘historic' spending hike
AFP | The Hague US President Donald Trump took a victory lap at NATO's Hague summit yesterday, joining leaders in reaffirming the 'ironclad' commitment to protect each other after allies agreed to his demand to ramp up defence spending. The unpredictable US leader appeared keen to take the plaudits as he secured a key foreign policy win by getting NATO's 32 countries to agree to meet his headline target of five percent of GDP on defence spending. In a move that will provide reassurance to allies in Europe worried over the threat from Russia, Trump signed off on a final leaders' declaration confirming 'our ironclad commitment' to NATO's collective defence pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all. 'It's a great victory for everybody, I think, and we will be equalised,' Trump said of the new spending commitment, ahead of the summit's main session. Diplomats said that behind closed doors Trump insisted there was no greater ally than Washington and urged others to spend some of the new money on US weaponry. The deal hatched by NATO is a compromise that allows Trump to claim triumph, while in reality providing wiggle room for cash-strapped governments in Europe. It sees countries promise to dedicate 3.5 percent of GDP to core military spending by 2035, and a further 1.5 to broader security-related areas such as infrastructure. Entering the meeting, leaders lined up to declare the summit's spending hike as 'historic'. NATO allies say the increase is needed to counter a growing threat from Russia but also to keep Trump engaged, with the US leader long complaining that Europe spends too little on its own defence. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said: 'As Europeans, we should realise that our long break from history is over.' The continent needed to take responsibility for its own security 'in a very difficult time', added De Wever.
