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No Records Found
| Id |
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| Title |
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| Date |
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| Country |
BELGIUM (Europe)
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| Adjudication body |
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| Territorial scope |
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Domestic
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| Case number |
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| Main themes |
Blasphemy and religion
Hate speech
Hate speech - Racism and xenophobia
Hate speech - Religious hatred
Hate speech - Sexism and misogyny
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| Type of expression |
Meme or GIF
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| Branch of law |
Criminal Law
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| Decision direction |
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Contracts expression
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| Outcome |
Criminal conviction
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| Outcome note |
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| Relation to previous decision |
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Agreement
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| Speaker |
Gender_Man
Politician, public officer, or public body
Public figure
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| Target |
Collective target
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| Link to case |
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| Link to analysis |
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| Related decisions |
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| Summary |
A 2018 television documentary revealed that members of the far-right movement Schild & Vrienden (S&V) had frequently shared racist, sexist and negationist memes in closed chat groups on Facebook and Discord. This instigated a criminal investigation which led to a trial. The leader of S&V, Dries Van Langenhove, an ex-parliamentarian for the extreme right-wing political party Vlaams Belang, and other S&V members were accused of belonging to a racist group, Holocaust denial, spreading ideas based on racial hatred, inciting racial discrimination and selling prohibited weapons.
In the first instance ruling, Van Langenhove was sentenced to one year in prison, a fine of 16,000 euros and a disqualification from political rights for ten years. The other members were handed probation prison sentences and fines.
The appeal confirmed the criminal convictions, despite reducing the fines and eliminating or suspending all prison terms.
Link to first instance ruling: https://www.rechtbanken-tribunaux.be/sites/default/files/media/news/files/vonnis-sv-12032024_0.pdf
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