The owner and the manager of Café Picasso in the centre of Leuven have both been sentenced to six months in prison and a €4,000 fine for spreading "racist and xenophobic memes" on screens at the bar during a summer event last year.
During an event organised by the bar, various racist and xenophobic memes were projected onto advertising screens on the outer facade of the building. Several members of the radical left PVDA party reported them to the police.
"We nearly fell off our chairs when we saw the messages appear on the screens. There were phrases such as 'Better more cows in the meadow than another asylum seeker' and 'My generation had Wonder Woman, your generation has Wonder if it's a Woman'. Those messages are downright insulting to a large part of the people of Leuven," Toon Melis of PVDA Leuven told Het Laatste Nieuws.
'We make jokes about everyone'
The two members filed a complaint with the police and the case eventually ended up at the Leuven criminal court. During the hearing, the two men did not deny the allegations but they did ask for an acquittal as they believe the images are not punishable.
"We projected the memes on the screens as a change from the more boring advertising, to keep our customers interested," the cafe owner said. "We make jokes about everyone, but nowadays you are apparently only allowed to make jokes about well-behaved, white citizens."
The duo were only convicted for some of the memes, as the criminal court is not to rule on all of them, such as those about sexuality and gender. These could be viewed as press offences (when someone expresses a punishable opinion in a publication, printed or online), which would make it the competence of the Court of Assizes, VRT reports.
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The judge ruled that the memes are "offensive and stigmatising" and emphasised the fact that they appeared in the public space. "The court deemed a prison sentence of six months and a fine of €4,000 appropriate."
For PVDA member Bea Knaepen, the verdict sets "an important precedent," as it makes it clear that "something like this has no place in our society" and will no longer go unpunished.
