Belgian Nationalist Given 12 Month Suspended Sentence Because Someone Else Shared A 'Racist’ Meme

Via Remix News,

Belgian conservative-nationalist Dries Van Langenhove has again been sentenced on appeal to one year in prison as a suspended sentence for what the judge said were violations of the Racism and Negationism Act.

The sentence stems from racist memes that were not even posted by him, but by members of a group chat he administrated seven years ago.

The sentence was delivered today by the Court of Appeal in Ghent, although Van Langenhove does not accept the sentence, and the case now goes into cassation.

On X, Van Langenhove simply wrote, “Guilty. 12 months in jail. Madness.”

Guilty. 12 months in jail. Madness.

— Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) June 20, 2025

He later clarified upon receipt of the written verdict that the custodial sentence “appears to be a suspended sentence,” which he suspects is “most likely because the prisons in Belgium are literally full of illegal migrants.”

“Most people don’t realize that the end result of such a sentence is the same. One politically incorrect tweet can now put me in jail. One meme sent by someone else in a group chat I am in can turn the suspended sentence into an effective one. This suspended sentence is the gravest form of censorship they could pursue and an effective way to kill activism,” he added.

I just received the written verdict. It’s very long so it will take time to analyse everything, but the 12 month prison sentence appears to be a suspended sentence.

The irony is that I have been fighting against mass migration for well over a decade now, and it has gotten me a… pic.twitter.com/8aeAxzXsLz

— Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) June 20, 2025

Last year, Van Langenhove was sentenced to a one-year prison sentence and a fine of €16,000. He would also be sentenced to be deprived of his right to stand for election for a maximum term of 10 years, but he appealed this verdict in a lower court.

Van Langenhove ran a chat in 2018, but a broadcast from Pano news outlet showed how members exchanged thousands of potentially racist and sexist messages. This included several hundred memes or internet cartoons.

Van Langenhove contended they were jokes and indicated he did not post anything himself. Seven members of the group chat faced criminal prosecution.

Notably, the case in a country like the United States would have never gone to trial due to freedom of expression enshrined in the constitution. However, Belgium and a range of EU countries have not only beefed up hate speech laws but are also using them to prosecute political dissidents and anti-immigration activists, with Van Langenhove now one of the most high-profile targets.

After several delays, the Court of Appeal in Ghent delivered its sentence today.

Van Langenhove was convicted of violations of the Racism and Negationism Act, but the court argued that since the facts date from seven years ago, they merit a lighter sentence. The one-year prison sentence is fully postponed, and the fine is still €16,000. Van Langenhove will also not be deprived of his civil rights.

“It is a black day for free speech, for Flanders, and for Europe,” said Van Langenhove when he came out. “Me, my family, and my environment have been terrorized for humor in a private chat group for seven years. Unfortunately, the court never wanted to listen to me, even now.”

The court, however, found that Van Langenhove cannot use humor as a defense “if the real intention is to incite hatred.”

“In the private Facebook and Discord group, by the way, not only jokes and cartoons were sent, but also many other, ordinary messages that show that Shield & Friends (the chat group’s name) apparently and repeatedly proclaimed discrimination and racism.”

The court argued that even though Van Langenhove did not send the messages, he was responsible.

“He didn’t have it removed, even though he had the option to do so,” said the Court.

It rejected that VRT journalists manipulated the content of the messages, which Van Langenhove claimed.

The Court of Cassation will now review the legality of the judicial decisions, but will not examine the facts themselves. In most cases, the court determines whether the trial should be repeated.

“If necessary, I will then go to the European Court,” said Van Langenhove. “I certainly don’t give up the fight.”

Van Langenhove was on trial with five other defendants, who will receive 80 hours of work and fines of €1,600. However, two others will be sentenced to three years in prison with deferment.

One defendant who expressed regret was convicted, but his term will be suspended under separate conditions.

The case has been broadly watched as a litmus test on free speech conditions in Europe, with the European model focusing less on freedom of speech and more on controlled speech, especially on issues related to race, sex, and immigration.

Furthermore, questions have been raised about how access was obtained to the chat group in the first place, with allegations that a hack attack was conducted.

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