A former member of the far-right party Vlaams Belang, a 62-year-old known as M.E., has been sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined €1,600 by the Tongeren criminal court.
Now residing in Hungary, the man was convicted for promoting racist and violent videos against Muslims and Jews on social media networks. His then-partner has also received a six-month prison sentence and a €800 fine.
Previously on the radar of the judiciary, he was suspected of starting a fire at a prospective asylum centre in Bilzen in 2019, but was subsequently released under certain conditions.
M.E. is further known for displaying Nazi symbols at a 2020 Vlaams Belang rally.
Both the man and the woman were prosecuted for posting messages and videos on various Facebook pages they ran, advocating violence against Muslims and Jews. They were also found to have downplayed the Holocaust.
