A 24-year-old resident of Genk has confessed that it was he who sent an anonymous threatening email to Flemish minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) on Tuesday. He was arrested yesterday. The man has apologized, but will have to answer to the judge. The minister says he is ‘relieved’.
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That reports the public prosecutor of Limburg. In the mail, the minister was advised in Turkish to remain silent, otherwise she would be raped. Because the threat was taken seriously, the minister was under increased supervision.
A man was already arrested on Wednesday. He confessed, and said he realized he had made a mistake. The public prosecutor’s office does not provide further details about the motif for the time being. The minister’s cabinet called a number of recent statements by her about the Turkish Diyanet mosques – which Demir, in imitation of State Security, among other things called ‘the long arm of Erdogan’ – possibly the reason for the threatening letter.
Demir himself is a civil party in the case. “Now we have to let the court do its job,” said the minister in a response.
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‘In view of the seriousness of the facts’, the man is summoned to appear before the Correctional Court in Tongeren via the summary proceedings. The case will be considered on the merits in early January 2021.
The suspect faces a conviction for written threats and violations of the law on electronic telecommunications. This includes prison sentences of up to 2 years.
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