Tom Van Grieken, the leader of the Vlaams Belang party, was questioned by police on Saturday over an altered photo posted on social media on 12 February, depicting Genk Mayor Wim Dries shaking hands with Turkish President Erdogan.
In a video shared on the party’s social media channels on Saturday, Van Grieken confirmed he had been interrogated by police regarding the manipulated image.
The far-right party criticised the Genk city council for approving three mosques in the area. “Vlaams Belang used a doctored photo of me shaking hands with Erdogan to falsely link me to extremism,” explained Wim Dries in his complaint against the photo.
During the questioning, police reportedly requested Van Grieken to remove the altered image. However, he refused, stating he still stands “fully, 100%” behind the post.
