In Antwerp, the DPG Media building on the Mediaplein next to the Central Station was completely evacuated on Monday evening as a precautionary measure due to a threatening message. The police do not want to give details about the exact form or content of the threatening message or about the sender.
The evacuation procedure started around 5.30 pm and all employees who were present in the building at that time were summoned to exit via the emergency exits. Police carried out a ‘sweeping’ of the building.
The security zone around the DPG Media building was also lifted around 7.40 pm. A sweeping of the building and the surrounding area as a result of a threat message received nothing. There will still be security at the entrance of the building. “Until we are sure where the threat originates, it cannot be ruled out that things will still happen against the building,” says Willem Migom, spokesman for the Antwerp police to VTM Nieuws. “So we will certainly provide extra men for the rest of the evening.” The spokesperson cannot go into detail about the nature of the threat. “But of course we do everything necessary to exclude risks and we also provide security for the rest of the evening.”
According to police sources, the threat would come from a Dutch and right-wing extremist angle, from a group that calls itself the ‘Dutch Anonymous Freedom Fighters’. For this reason, DPG’s editorial buildings in the Netherlands were also monitored more strictly.
Moreover, it was a double threat. “On the one hand there was a (fight) team from the Netherlands on their way to Belgium and on the other side there was a bomb package that might already have been placed in the DPG Media building. That is also why the DPG Media building has been searched by the police with explosive dogs ”, said VTM terror expert Faroek Özgünes in the VTM News last night.
“A gang was on their way here because they thought DPG Media would know where Marc Van Ranst is,” said Özgünes. A week ago, the virologist was housed with his family at a secret address after threats by the fugitive military Jürgen Conings.
Emergency studio
The 19 o’clock VTM News was broadcast from an emergency studio in Vilvoorde. “Dany Verstraeten was hastily invited to present, while Stef Wauters stayed in Antwerp in case we could broadcast a part from there,” says An Goovaerts, spokeswoman for DPG Media. There would be no impact for DPG Media’s newspapers today. An extra news broadcast from Antwerp followed at 9:40 PM with extra information.
The newspaper editors of Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen also had to leave the building for a while on Monday evening. “The editors who worked on site are now back in place,” says Goovaerts. “There will be no impact for Tuesday’s papers. Many of them also work from home at the moment and our printing facility in Lokeren was not affected by the threat. ”
Flemish Minister of Media Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) talks on Twitter about “worrying news”. “Threats against journalists are never possible. Strength to all employees at DPG Media. ” Threats against news outlets are rare in this country. In the Netherlands, media, such as the public broadcaster NOS, have been struggling for some time with increasing aggression and intimidation.
It is also not known whether there is a connection with the threat that was previously expressed against Marc Van Ranst. That track is being investigated. Chances are that Van Ranst and his family will have to stay in the so-called safe house for a while. The security services assess the situation day by day, and on that basis decide whether it is necessary for the virologist and his family to remain in hiding or not. But it seems very likely that as long as Jürgen Conings is not caught, the threat is too great to leave the safe house. Because it became clear last week that the soldier is serious. Then it became known that Conings was on the lookout at Van Ranst’s house for more than two hours on Monday – just after his disappearance.
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