Dries Van Langenhove “revelled in Nazi ideas that cause much suffering,” a judge said.
A key figure in the Belgian far right was sentenced Tuesday morning to a year in prison and handed a heavy fine.
Dries Van Langenhove, a political activist and leader of a Flemish-nationalist youth movement called Schild & Vrienden, was convicted of inciting violence and denying the Holocaust, the Ghent criminal court ruled Tuesday morning.
Van Langenhove as well as six other members of his far-right youth movement were tried on various charges including hatred, racism, Holocaust denial and breaching a local gun law. Five of the other members that stood trial received suspended prison sentences.
The 30-year-old Van Langenhove “revelled in Nazi ideas that cause much suffering. He wants to undermine society,” a judge said when announcing the ruling.