The Brussels Criminal Court has convicted T.B. of assaulting G.D., then president of the Union of Jewish Students of Belgium (UEJB), on 7 May 2024, but ruled out an antisemitic motive for the attack.
The court concluded that the assault caused G.D. to be unable to work for less than four months.
T.B., a former student at ULB, faced charges for assaulting G.D. and E.L. during the first day of a student and pro-Palestinian group’s occupation of a university building.
While the attack on G.D., who is Jewish, was initially described as aggravated due to alleged antisemitic intent, the court rejected this claim.
The court noted that disciplinary bodies had dismissed the antisemitic motive both at first instance and on appeal.
A witness statement made one year after the incident, which supported the victim’s claim of religious hatred, was deemed by the court to require "careful scrutiny".
The court highlighted inconsistencies in the victim’s statements, limiting the conviction to assault without aggravating circumstances.
T.B. was also found guilty of assaulting E.L., a ULB security officer, and stealing his radio during the same sequence of events.
T.B. was sentenced to 250 hours of community service, with a backup of 10 months’ imprisonment if the community service is not completed.
