A complaint lodged by the European Jewish Association (EJA) against the well-known Flemish author Herman Brusselmans has been declared inadmissible by prosecutors in the East Flemish city of Ghent. At a hearing in Chambers on Friday morning, prosecutors ruled that EJA had no interest as a civil party with its complaint as its statutes don’t state that the association works to tackle discrimination against Jews. The not-for-profit’s group's lawyer Sven Mary says that EJA is to appeal against the ruling.
Prosecutor rules that complaint lodged by the European Jewish Association (EJA) against the author Herman Brusselmans is inadmissible, EJA to appeal
Published:
EJA’s civil party complaint was made to an examining magistrate on 22 August. EJA accused Herman Brusselmans of inciting hatred again the Jewish community following a column he had written that was published in the weekly magazine on 6 August.
In the column Herman Brusselmans wrote. “I see an image of a crying and screaming Palestinian boy, crying inconsolably for his mother that is lying under a pile of rubble, and I imagine that the boy is my own son Roman, and the mother is my own partner, Lena. Then I become so enraged that I want to ram a pointed knife straight down the throat of every Jew I meet.’
The European Jewish Association described the above passage as "psychopathic". However, prosecutors say that EJA’s complaint is inadmissible as the not-for-profit group makes no mention of working to combat discrimination against Jews in its statutes.
Appeal
When an individual or group files a complaint as a civil party an examining magistrate is obliged to investigate the case and a judicial investigation is opened. However, to ensure that complaints aren’t lodged on a whim, those filing civil party complaints are obliged to pay a deposit of 500 euro. Once the investigation has been completed the case goes to Chambers where a decision is made as to whether it will be heard in the Criminal Court. Here Chambers ruled that this will not be the case. However, EJA is appealing against the ruling.