BELGIUM EVENTS
Brussels, May 26 (EFE) .- Facebook has eliminated the support group for the extreme right-wing Belgian military Jürgen Conings, who fled on May 17 and in international search and capture due to “threat of terrorist attack”, which had almost 50,000 members.
The group, called “Als 1 achter Jürgen” (As 1 behind Jürgen), was removed along with the personal profile of the fugitive soldier “for violating the policy on dangerous people and organizations”, reported the Facebook press service in Belgium.
Last weekend, Conings was included in the list of the most wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for “threat of terrorist attack against people and the regime”, after the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office assigned a judge of specialized instruction in terrorism in the case of this military man, fled for ten days heavily armed after making threats against the authorities and a well-known virologist.
“Content, groups and pages that praise or support terrorists like Jürgen Conings are not allowed on Facebook or Instagram,” added the social network.
However, immediately after the disappearance of the group, a possible new page to support the military emerged on Facebook, which already has more than 1,200 followers and in which the social network is accused of wanting to interfere in the moderation of its content online.
The Belgian Defense Minister, Ludivine Dedonder, acknowledged at a press conference that the support that Conings enjoys is “worrying” and assured that supporting him is “supporting a man who threatens to injure and kill innocent people.”
“The fact that some soldiers or former soldiers have shown their support within these groups damages the reputation and honor of the 25,000 women and men who make up the Defense,” added the minister, referring to the military who have defended the fugitive.
In fact, eleven soldiers who were followed by the General Service of Intelligence and Military Security (ADIV) for being suspected of having relations with extreme right-wing groups saw their access permits to the weapons depots and classified information revoked this weekend, the minister recalled.
However, he acknowledged that more soldiers who show their support for Conings are being watched, but they still cannot take any action against them “because we are in a rule of law and everyone can have an opinion”, although, he warned, “we should not go further away”.
Likewise, both the minister and the Chief of Defense Staff, Michel Hofman, acknowledged having made mistakes in tracking the soldier.
Hofman also regretted “deeply” that certain sectors of the population and the army see Conings as “a victim, a resistance fighter or, but still, a hero”, assuring that “certainly, this is not the case”.
The man was already on a list of the security services of 30 extreme right-wing soldiers considered potential terrorists for having made threats against political personalities and against the virologist Marc Van Randst, famous in the country for the pandemic.
On Tuesday 18, a day after his escape, his car was located, without license plates and with several heavy weapons inside, in the vicinity of the Alto Kempen natural park, a 12,000-hectare space in which the search was concentrated. and an important police and military device of about 400 personnel was deployed.
The fugitive left two letters to his family in which he stated that he could not continue living in a society in which politicians and virologists “tell us how we should live” and mentioned several times Van Randst, who was immediately placed under protection together with his family in a secret place.
In the letters he added that he knew the risks of his “mission” and that he did not mind dying. In addition, he left his military decorations on his parents’ grave, according to local press.
The Belgian authorities consider that the man poses a serious threat to security in light of the evidence collected, although they have not clarified what the objectives would be.
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