De Standaard cartoonist Steven Degryse, known as Lectrr, received death threats after the publication of one of his cartoons about the Israel-Gaza violence.
It is the third time the cartoonist, who also illustrates the cover of The Brussels Times Magazine, has received death threats in his career and has reported the threats to the police.
"As a cartoonist, hate mail is so common that we have to laugh about it among ourselves," he told De Standaard. "I don't want to get to a point where death threats also become banal. I went to the police the previous times, and now too." The cartoonist did not reveal which specific cartoon the death threat was about, but there are several cartoons of the Israel-Gaza conflict on his Instagram.
"Is this now the retaliation for the retaliation for the repudiation?" one Israeli soldier asks in a cartoon Lectrr posted on Wednesday. "Or the retaliation for the retaliation for the retaliation for the retaliation for that?" his fellow soldier adds. Another cartoon posted on Thursday depicts the Geneva Convention printed on Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu's toilet paper.
"Disagree with my cartoons? Fine. The more opinions, the more interesting the debate. But if you feel the need to threaten me or my loved ones with death, put your keyboard aside. Go do it differently. I can visit the Ghent Cops again soon," Lectrr posted on his Instagram on Wednesday.
"Reporting death threat number 3. That's not okay. Cartoonists have just as much right to do their job in a safe manner. Every 'death threat, how "it's just a joke, it wasn't meant that way' causes stress, anxiety and hassle. Can't you deal with free speech on the internet? Stick your keyboard in your ass and play padel. But don't threaten ANYONE with death," he said.
His latest post from Friday morning depicts a bloodied scythe in the shape of Israel.
Lectrr's first death threat came after he published a cartoon depicting an IS fighter trying to decapitate a pencil after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, after which he had police protection for three months. The second threat came after a cartoon showing a coronavirus germ on the Chinese flag.
Lectrr did not want to reveal any further details about the case while the police investigation is ongoing.
