Belgium to compensate former senator over drug scandal resignation

Belgium to compensate former senator over drug scandal resignation

A European court has ruled that Belgium must pay over €30,000 in compensation to a former Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) senator, who resigned shortly after being elected over her alleged involvement in a drug scandal during a trip to Thailand.

The ruling, delivered Tuesday by the European Court of Human Rights, says the rights of Kim Geybels, elected N-VA senator in June 2010, were violated when she was put under pressure to resign only eight weeks into her mandate.

Geybels became involved in a drug scandal in 2010 while she was vacationing in Thailand with fellow N-VA member and current romantic partner Bas Luyten, who according to Het Laatste Nieuws, was married at the time.

Geybels, who denied the accusations, was asked to resign by former Senate president Danny Pieters (also an N-VA member) upon her return to Belgium, but later attempted to withdraw her resignation letter, arguing she had been pressured to sign it.

The ruling found that the circumstances under which Geybels was asked to resign did not provide the necessary safeguards to rule out the possibility of an arbitrary decision, and thus constituted a violation of Geybel’s rights.

The Court ordered the Belgian government to pay €34,968.59 to Geybels, who seized the Court in October 2010 originally asking for a compensation of more than €300,000.

Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times


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