A Brussels court has temporarily suspended criminal proceedings against an environmental activist, after he hacked into publicity screens in squares across the city to display a message denouncing two controversial free-trade agreements. In its decision, announced Wednesday, Brussels' Correctional Court said it recognized the defendant as guilty, but agreed to a request from his lawyer to suspend criminal proceedings against him for a two-year period.
The court justified its decision by the fact that 26-year-old Hugo Périlleux Sanchez had an otherwise clean criminal record, adding that the events in question were dated.
In 2016, Sanchez hacked into a giant publicity screen in Brussels' De Brouckère square, swapping a Coca-Cola advertisement with a message denouncing the European Union's free-trade agreements with the United States and Canada, known as TTIP and CETA, respectively.
Piratage de l’écran Coca-Cola à De Brouckère (TTIP Game Over) from zin tv on Vimeo.
The actions —which were captured on video and spread online under the name "TTIP Game Over"—, garnered public support for Sanchez, who risked a fine of over €12,000.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times