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TWO SIZES, THREE WEIGHTS

Opinion - Carine Knapen


I've had it in for a while, all the fuss about the verdict in Sanda's trial, the witch hunt of influencer Acid, the attacks on CD&V president Sammy Mahdi, and the hypocritical actions and reactions of the press. But the fact that Facebook has now also deleted Doctor Clo Cornelissen's post for allegedly violating community rules, purely because she denounced the fact that she was convicted far more severely for far less than the " Reuzegommers " ( and her post is thus also gone on the page of all those who shared her post ), is way over the top and makes one think about the machinery that may be behind this again. Why does FB do this huh ?


La mustard is running up my nose. So it's about time that I also ring the cat's bell and put the church back in the center.


First a word about the Court's ruling in order to have this off the table right away :

The judgment of 26 May 2023 has been published and can be read by anyone. There is nothing wrong with the sentence. The Court has done its job, substantiated its considerations in detail and delivered a judgment in a well-considered manner, taking into account - undoubtedly - also the fact that Sanda's parents ( who are de facto the only interested parties ) did NOT want a prison sentence for the " Reuzegommers " and had already stated in the press before any sentence that they considered a community service sentence sufficient.

A 300-hour community service is the maximum that could legally be imposed on any of the "Reuzegommers ". Therefore, we cannot blame the court for respecting the limits of the law.

The fine of 400 euros is not as low as thought because opcents are added ( so x 5 and a total of 2.000 euros, each ).

Now that the 18 " Reuzegommers " have been found guilty of the retained charges, the civil courts will look into the claims of the damages. At least, if this is still relevant. There is a real chance that Sanda's parents have already received circumstantial damages to make them lenient during the criminal proceedings. This strategy is often recommended by lawyers of defendants. If you do not hear anything anymore in the press about civil proceedings against the " Reuzegommers " then this strategy has been applied and Sanda's parents can no longer set a civil claim.


So what is WRONG with the legal system ?

Not this Court judgment but rather the fact that there is NO uniformity in judicial sentencing and judges in numerous other cases extra-proportionally convict to the maximum permissible limit of the category of crimes under which the charge submitted to their review falls and sometimes even go above that, out of personal spite against the accused. Judges are and remain human beings with their own brain twists, frustrations and insecurities. Lawyers know which judges are rabidly twisted and severely convict anyone who appears before them, even for minor offenses. Every district has at least a few of these judges where it is known in advance that there will be no mercy, that an appeal or even Cassation will have to be lodged (which is not always possible because Cassation does not assess the merits of the case).

Dr Clo Cornelissen's sentence is a good example of this. A six-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine for not complying with the corona measures ( i.e. not imposing the mouth mask requirement in her doctor's practice ) is completely out of line.


The list of absurd, totally disproportionate convictions in this country, is long, very long. By the way, the same goes for the list of acquittals and very light convictions for serious facts that have been proven. So there is indeed a kind of class justice, albeit not in the way targeted by the outraged population : it is not about rich and white versus poor and other skin color,religion or origin. The term " arbitrary " is more appropriate here. Fortunately not with all judges There are still those who uphold justice and to whom the adage " being right does not mean you will be right " does NOT apply. The good work they do is in stark contrast to the growing number who are out of place at Justice.


Failure to release the names of the " Reuzegommers" :

That the Court did not release the names of the accused/convicts when it published the judgment is normal. It never does and may not do so. Usually, the lawyers release the names and/or the press who attend public hearings. Sometimes also press magistrates ( from the standing magistracy who are also a party in a trial ).

What the people are rightly outraged about, and Sammy Mahdi also definitely has a point, is that in the case of the " Reuzegommers ", the names have not been released by the press but that they have taken influencer Acid - who, as he himself has stated " has done what the press should have done " - in the pincers and spread his actions widely in the press.


The media play a very dirty role in all the trials this country has counted in the past decades.

A lot of people have been completely destroyed by the media BEFORE they had to appear in court at all. Convicted without trial by the press, with photo, name, surname, everything they could find.

One thinks, for example, of Bart De Pauw. He did not kill anyone. And Guy Van Sande. He didn't kill anyone either. They were dragged mercilessly through the mud for weeks, months.

The list of people who, by name and often with a lot of fabrication and sensational speculation, have been disgracefully quartered by the press goes all the way to Tokyo and back.

And yes, Clo Cornelissen, too, has been covered in the press on several occasions, with photo, name, in all colors.


Doctor Kris Gaublomme and a series of other doctors, scientists and academics have suffered the same fate.


People do not even have to be guilty of any crime to be slashed, smeared, insulted and insulted by the press. It is enough that they express an opinion that goes against a fixed narrative. Lieven Annemans, Sam Brokken, Mattias Desmet, Theo Schetters and countless other people have seen their names and pictures published in the press with a string of heavy insults and untruths. With only one aim: to undermine their credibility and destroy their reputation.

I myself have also been the subject of these disgraceful practices on several occasions. I demanded a right of reply from HLN and De Morgen, matter of putting their own nonsense straight. They refused !

All I could do was sue them because the right of reply is required by law, but that was too much for me so I left it at that.


In the case of the "Reuzegommers " however, VRT and VTM do NOT think it is relevant to release their name, photo and history. Discretion at its finest.

Sammy Mahdi, on the other hand, is the headline. All the spotlights on Sammy and his Tiktok Message. In the news, on Terzake, the Afspraak.... he has been rolled over all tongues to the fullest. His message has been completely taken out of context. What did they do once again ? They singled out one word ( " community service") and focused all debates on the Court's verdict, the lenient sentence, while the essence of Sammy's message mainly denounces the disproportion in the conduct of the press in the case of the " Reuzegommers " versus all other cases, and stands up for influencer Acid whose Youtube channel has been deleted, the man has been arrested ( ! ) and the press did drag him through the mud immediately with photo, name and surname.

Two measures, three weights.

Not surprisingly, people protest against arbitrariness ( which they call " class justice " ). Many think that the "Reuzegommers " get privileged treatment because they are of high pedigree and the repressions against Acid are the result of a phone call from Antwerp Provincial Governor Cathy Berx, whose son is also allegedly a " Reuzegommer ".


The last word has certainly not been said about the Reuzegommers. The degrading practices they displayed at baptisms are anything but innocent. Sanda does not live anymore to tell the tale, and the same goes for all the other deaths that have occurred in earlier baptisms. Or did we forget about that ?


There is work on the shelf for Annelies Verlinden and Vincent Van Quickenborne :

1) There needs to be uniformity in the jurisdiction of courts. Everyone must be equal before the law. No more free hand to judges to do as they please ( acquittal or light sentence, or disproportionately heavy conviction ). Dame Justitia must be reinstated.

2) There must be a School of Magistracy in Belgium ( as in France ). Magistrate is a profession and that profession should be taught, with exams and apprenticeships. No more political appointments. Those who fail the exams and aptitude test will not be appointed.

3) The press should be banned from smearing, insulting, scolding, condemning people any more without trial. Justice belongs to the domain of the judiciary, not that of the press. Trials should no longer be conducted in the media, with severe penalties for those who violate the ban.

4) With the exception of serious criminals ( murderers, terrorists ... ), the names of convicted persons should never again be released by the sensationalist press. Not as in never.

5) Ban on the press attending court hearings except when expressly authorized. Prohibition to report on trials except in case of limited exceptions with, where appropriate, the obligation to respect the adversarial nature of debates and to allow all sides to speak.

6) Ministers appointed by the King should refrain from publicly commenting on other politicians. If they have something to say, they do so through internal communications or in the political hemisphere but not in public forums. Vincent Van Quickenborne's comments on Sammy Mahdi were highly inappropriate. So were the comments of certain figures the press drummed up in commentary programs, especially because - for the umpteenth time - the person concerned was not present and could not defend himself. There is a popular term for this: backbiting and gossip.


Finally : it was already mentioned after previous deaths during baptisms but never came about. Universities should curb baptisms and lay down clear rules for what can and cannot be done, what is allowed and forbidden. The degrading of students should be banned. This is ( in certain faculties even more than others ) an established practice since many years although it has no added value. You are not a better student or better member of the student union if you have sat in a vat full of animal intestines, had a load of rotten eggs, flour and urine poured over you, ingested fish oil or other filthy substances or have to undergo all kinds of degrading practices naked.

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The images below are a screenshot of Dr Cornelissen's post deleted by FB. Those who wish can read her clarifications on her FB page.








 
 
 

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