Marc Van Ranst believes that the only purpose of an ongoing lawsuit against him is to make him lose time and money, the Belgian virologist said on Twitter following the first hearing on Monday.
A prevalent commentator, Van Ranst stands accused of having made “reckless statements” that caused economic damage and confusion among the population, according to entrepreneur Rudi De Kerpel and five other company managers who started a petition against him at the end of August.
Following the first hearing, however, Van Ranst has once again taken to Twitter to point out his multiple issues with what he calls a "show trial to bully me."
Vandaag was de eerste zitting van de rechtszaak die Rudi De Kerpel (N-VA, regeringscommissaris VRT) tegen mij inspant voor de Rechtbank van Eerste Aanleg. Zijn fabriek van plastieken bekertjes in Deinze zou volgens hem door mij verlies hebben geleden. De Kerpel eist €5.000. pic.twitter.com/uST5Tp0jK1
— Marc Van Ranst (@vanranstmarc) September 28, 2020
“Today was the first hearing of the lawsuit that Rudi De Kerpel (N-VA, government commissioner VRT) brought against me before the Court of First Instance. According to him, his factory of plastic cups in Deinze would have suffered a loss because of me. De Kerpel claims €5,000,” Van Ranst started.
Zijn top-advocaat Walter Damen daagde een half uur te laat op voor de zitting, en vroeg toen uitstel tot 3/11 omdat hij nog geen tijd had gehad om zich op de pleidooien voor te bereiden. Voor de camera van @VTMNIEUWS kon meester Damen plots wel reeds pleiten. pic.twitter.com/pT9IqI2yiP
— Marc Van Ranst (@vanranstmarc) September 28, 2020
“His top lawyer Walter Damen showed up half an hour late for the hearing, then asked for a postponement until 3/11 because he had not yet had time to prepare for the pleadings. In front of the camera of VTM News master Damen was suddenly able to plead.”
Volgens mij is de enige bedoeling van deze rechtszaak om mij tijd en geld te doen verliezen. De Kerpel en Damen misbruiken hier de rechtbank om via een showproces pestgedrag te stellen. Pestgedrag is De Kerpel trouwens niet vreemd. Op twitter beschimpt hij mij steevast als “Rat”. pic.twitter.com/8tqwJfdwns
— Marc Van Ranst (@vanranstmarc) September 28, 2020
“In my opinion, the only purpose of this court case is to make me lose time and money. De Kerpel and Damen are abusing the court here to use a show trial to bully me,” he said. “By the way, De Kerpel is no stranger to bullying behaviour. On twitter he invariably taunts me as "Rat".
Via hun website https://t.co/3RUXoGbimU vragen de 6 CEO’s (Tom De Bruyckere -Bart Deconinck - Rudi De Kerpel - Philip Nichelson - Tanguy Van Quickenborne - Patrick Vermaerke) aan de burgers om hen financieel een steuntje in de rug te geven om hun rechtszaak tegen mij te betalen. pic.twitter.com/fe7sZ1qeWa
— Marc Van Ranst (@vanranstmarc) September 28, 2020
"Via their website http://wijzijnboos.be," which translates as We Are Angry, "the 6 CEOs (Tom De Bruyckere -Bart Deconinck - Rudi De Kerpel - Philip Nichelson - Tanguy Van Quickenborne - Patrick Vermaerke) are asking citizens to give them financial support to pay for their lawsuit against me," Van Ranst continued.
Upon receiving the subpoena, Van Ranst had commented that “everyone is free to subpoena anyone, but I’m not worried. They’d be better off suing the virus, then they’d have a better chance of winning a lawsuit.”
Jules Johnston & Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
