Belgian Nationalist Sentenced to a Year in Prison Over 'Hateful Memes' Shared in Private Group Chat

🚨 Belgian nationalist activist and former member of parliament Dries Van Langenhove @DVanLangenhove has just been sentenced to a year in prison, a 16,000 euro fine, and ten years of "deprived civil rights" which will mean he is barred from politics.

His crime? He was in a… pic.twitter.com/ppit2VoCRn

— Keith Woods (@KeithWoodsYT) March 12, 2024

I had the pleasure of meeting Dries last year. He is one of the most professional and dedicated activists I have encountered

His party is currently topping the polls in Belgium ahead of an election

They attack people like this because they are effectivepic.twitter.com/quBbE06y0D

— Keith Woods (@KeithWoodsYT) March 12, 2024

Whoa https://t.co/QMWVZXRICJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2024

The chats on the Shield and Friends site included the most macabre jokes and memes on anything from famine in Africa to Holocaust concentration camps.

Van Langenhove, 30, said he did not commit any crimes.

"A years-long investigation, on which the Justice Department wasted millions of euros of taxpayers' money, shows that the ... activists cannot be charged with anything other than some memes. Humor. Memes that I didn't even post myself," he said in a reaction.

Some of the parties in the case lodged complaints following the VRT documentary.

"The ridiculing of gas chambers, of incinerators, that was so over the top for me that I spontaneously lodged a complaint," said Henri Heimans, a former magistrate whose parents survived the Nazi death camps. "Then, of course, I unwittingly ended up in a procedural battle that lasted for years."

Van Langenhove was not at the court in Ghent, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Brussels, but his lawyer said he would appeal the ruling, which automatically suspends his imprisonment. He was also fined 16,000 euros ($17,470).