Justice
Gert Van Mol, the owner of ‘tScheldt, has been sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 4,000 euros for incitement to hatred or violence against Zelfa Madhloum, the former spokeswoman of Open VLD.
Van Mol stood before the court in Mechelen on suspicion of incitement to hatred or violence. In May 2020, ‘tScheldt – which calls itself a satirical website – published an article that heavily criticized Madhloum. Among other things, she was called a “cheater” and a company she founded was labeled a “ghost company”. The article also published a photo of Madhloum in a traditional chador, taken while she was traveling in Iraq. Madhloum is of Iraqi descent. According to the court, ‘tScheldt wrongly suggested that Madhloum was not integrated into Western society. According to the court, in this way “the circumstances were deliberately created that provoke and encourage racist and hateful statements.”
In addition to Van Mol, two readers were also on trial who posted very virulent reactions under the article. One of the two was acquitted due to doubt. The second posted under the article: “Unceremoniously shoot those retarded primitive people (sic).” He was sentenced to 1 month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 800 euros.
Gert Van Mol himself has always denied that he is the man behind ‘tScheldt. The articles on the website are signed under a pseudonym and are therefore anonymous. But according to the court, it is certain that Van Mol is the man behind the site. “The information in the criminal file shows that defendant Van Mol is the owner and actual manager with full control over the content of the website and the Twitter and Facebook page.”
The prosecutor had asked for an eight-month suspended prison sentence for Van Mol and a fine of 8,000 euros.
More later.
