According to the Antwerp Court of Appeal, attaching a colleague to his bed, hinder his mouth, shaving his head and cover him with wax does not constitute harassment. The Court believes that such practices are part of the military training, and has acquitted three people in this affair. The Flemish newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen both relayed thisinformation on Friday.
A young native of Bourg-Leopold of 18 years old was in training to become an officer, when on May 7, 2009, nine of his classmates scapegoated him on the military campus in Sint Truiden. They tied him to his bed and gagged him, before shaving his head and covering his body with shaving foam and shoe polish.
In first instance, the three main perpetrators had been sentenced to three months' suspended sentence. Two of them had appealed the decision before the court.
The Court of Appeal has just acquitted all three men. The judgment reads: "The facts must be viewed in the context of military training. No serious injury or harm to human dignity has been committed."
(Source: Belga)
