The East Flemish public prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation into the recent column by Flemish writer Herman Brusselmans that was published in the weekly magazine Humo.
Public Prosecutor's Office opens criminal investigation into the author Herman Brusselmans
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The equal opportunities body Unia lodged a complaint against the author with the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday. Unia says that in his column Herman Brusselsmans breached article 20 of the anti-racism legislation and incited hatred and violence against Jews.
A Unia spokesperson says that “It is now up to the public prosecutor's office to carry out an investigation”. Unia added that its complaint was against the author and not the weekly Humo magazine (in with the column was published) or Humo’s publisher DPG Media.
In his column, Herman Brusselmans wrote that after seeing footage of a Palestinian child screaming for his mother, who was buried under the rubble of a bombed building, he felt like shoving a sharp knife down the throat of every Jew he meets.
The remarks had already prompted the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the League against Racism and Anti-Semitism to lodge complaints against Herman Brusselmans with the public prosecutor’s office.
On Wednesday, the Francophone Jewish organisation Comité de Coordination des Organisations Juives de Belgique (CCOJB), its Flemish counterpart Forum der Joodse Organisaties (FJO) and the Jonathas Institute also announced their intention to take legal action against the writer.
They also says that they intend to hold Humo, where the article was published, to account "in due course".