The Board of Courts and Courts calls the “incendiary statements” of some politicians after the judgment in the Reuzegom case “inadmissible and unacceptable”. There is a call to take the dissatisfaction and mistrust of the population seriously and to hold a parliamentary debate on this.
The Board emphasizes that the process went smoothly, “but that after a few days there has been a change in perception”. Especially the statements of CD&V chairman Sammy Mahdi on TikTok led to outrage at the Board. In a video on TikTok and a series of messages on Twitter, Mahdi denounced on Thursday night the “community orders” that the convicted Reuzegommers have to perform and the “witch hunt” on YouTuber ACID, “while it actually does nothing else than what journalism does every day”. At HLN Live, Mahdi clarified today that he wants to enter into a discussion about which penalty should apply when.
“We can understand the fact that people disagree with a court decision,” the Board reports. “However, this dissatisfaction should never lead to people taking the law into their own hands. It is incomprehensible to the Board of Courts and Tribunals that some politicians use inflammatory language and implicitly support an alternative sanctioning circuit. Then one buries legal certainty and the rule of law. This is intolerable and unacceptable,” it said in a press release.
The Institute therefore calls on politicians to respect the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Antwerp and, by extension, the entire judiciary. It is also asked to “pick up and take seriously the signal of discontent and distrust from the population” and to hold a parliamentary debate on this. “It is essential that everyone takes their role seriously and considers which statements and behavior are appropriate and which are not. That means: not feeding conspiracy theories, not making socially disruptive statements, communicating with knowledge about the judicial procedures, doing everything possible to restore the public’s confidence in the institutions by connecting, explaining and interpreting and not by polarizing.”
OUR OPINION. “Sammy Mahdi can pick herself up with a lot of likes and views on TikTok, but that fades away. What does not disappear is the distrust in our democracy” (+)
Van Quickenborne lashes out at CD&V chairman Mahdi after TikTok video about witch hunt on Acid: “Brutal attack against our rule of law and our democracy” (+)
LOOK. Political journalist Karel Lattrez about the commotion: “Many politicians are angry about punishment”
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