Pont-à-Celles: Two years custodial sentence for racist threats and prohibited weapons
A defendant was tried in absentia and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for sending intimidating racist messages to his neighbour and possessing weapons.
Pont-à-Celles: Two years custodial sentence for racist threats and prohibited weapons
A court imposed a sentence of two years' custodial imprisonment together with a fine of €800 on an individual currently residing in Pont-à-Celles. He was not present when summoned before the court. Source: DHNET
The facts began in December 2024, when the Nivelles-Genappe police zone received a concerning email. The sender demanded intervention in a neighbourhood dispute at the Cité des Aclots. The tone used was alarming: the sender claimed to have already committed acts of violence and threatened to go further, even to take his neighbour's life, if the authorities did not respond.
Further messages followed, always directed at the same neighbour. The defendant complained about the sound of footsteps coming from the flat above his own. The messages contained hateful remarks regarding the African origins of the recipient. One of them contained a particularly alarming formulation evoking a sleeping "arsonist". This allusion was no accident, the individual in question having previously been punished for deliberately setting fire to a building.
When questioned by investigators, the man admitted to being the author of this correspondence. He explained his actions by excessive sensitivity to noise and by personal difficulties, particularly within his family. When suggested to consult a mental health specialist, he had refused, claiming he did not trust such practitioners.
The court file contained further charges. The defendant was also prosecuted for illegal possession of a dagger and an electric shock weapon. He was also required to answer charges of acts of vandalism targeting his neighbour's car, notably the destruction of its tyres. All these acts were committed whilst he had already been previously convicted.
During the proceedings, the public prosecutor emphasised the defendant's criminal record, the manifestly discriminatory nature of the threats made and his systematic refusal to take responsibility for his actions. The representative of the prosecution described the defendant as a clear risk to society.
Source: DHnet