The Charleroi Public Prosecutor’s Office requested prison sentences of 6 and 8 months respectively against Aurélien S., Pascal P. and Andy S on Monday. The three defendants, judged in absentia, will be prosecuted for promotion of genocide and incitement to racial hatred. The sentence is expected to be delivered on 15 May.
On 17 October 2018, the three defendants participated in the funeral of a fellow neo-Nazi at the crematorium in Gilly and then at the cemetery in Dampremy. According to the prosecution, Aurélien S., Pascal P. and Andy S. performed Nazi songs and salutes during the ceremony.
“The videos in the file show the defendants wearing jackets with the ’88 sign’ for ‘Heil Hitler’ and they can also be seen making Nazi salutes for several seconds, or even several minutes while following the hearse,” deputy prosecutor Camille Garcez detailed.
The city of Charleroi has decided to act as a civil party in the case and is claiming a symbolic euro as settlement. “By acting in this way, the three men marked their approval of Nazi racial ideology,” the civil party explained. A sentence of six months' imprisonment is sought against Aurélien S., who has no penal record.
Two additional months in prison were sought against the other two defendants, who have nine and twelve convictions respectively. The three defendants are being tried in absentia.
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Philippe Herman, lawyer for the city council of Charleroi, explained to Sudinfo that a simple Nazi salute does not lead to criminal charges, but a combination of signs and pro-Nazi imagery demonstrates a support for the Third Reich. This means that the defendants inherently associated themselves with genocide, racial hatred, especially of Jewish people, which is a criminal offence.
Holocaust denial has been illegal in Belgium since 1995. The law makes denying, playing down, justifying or approving of the crimes of Nazi Germany punishable with up to one year in prison and up to €2,500 in fines.
