The public prosecutor's office in Leuven has opened an investigation into the resident of the "Nazi house" in the municipality of Keerbergen, in the Flemish Brabant province.
Complaints have been filed against the 75-year-old man who lives in the house before, in 2014. However, the public prosecutor's office had to dismiss them as there were no criminal acts committed.
"We have enough elements to file a new complaint," confirmed Bram Sebrechts of the organisation for equal opportunities Unia to press agency Belga. "There is new data. For example, the resident has placed anti-Semitic symbols that are clearly visible from the public road in his garden," he added, reports VRT NWS.
Een nazihuis in Keerbergen. WTF!? http://t.co/ttRhbMuBUv pic.twitter.com/75a5wVWCaO
— Bram Vandeputte (@Bram_VDP) September 12, 2014
The house is adorned with Nazi symbols like flags, swastikas, Schutzstaffel (SS) signs, the Third Reich eagle and references to Hitler.
The complaint lodged concerns a violation of the law on negationism in Belgium, which forbids both the denial and the approval of the Holocaust, and is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year. The man is also accused of inciting hatred and violence.
Ondertussen in Keerbergen, een Nazihuis, man is fan van Adolf Hitler http://t.co/g7bvYDvNTE v/@vtmnieuws pic.twitter.com/8yYEhNxgZV
— Roeland Roovers (@r0eland) September 12, 2014
Translation of tweet: "Meanwhile in Keerbergen, a Nazi house, man is fan of Adolf Hitler"
The man, who is a former soldier, said that he "is not doing anything wrong," reports RTBF. "I am not hurting anyone, I have no criminal record. If they want to lock me up, let them," he added.
The court case will take place on 19 November.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
