Virus truth foreman Willem Engel has also lost a second lawsuit against the well-known Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst. The court in Mechelen acquitted Van Ranst of defamation this morning. Engel also has to pay the outspoken professor thousands of euros in damages.
Engel and Van Ranst have been harassing each other on Twitter for a long time, but the corona skeptic has shifted the war of words to the courtroom. He tries to get the virologist convicted of slander and defamation. Van Ranst would have again called Engel a virus denier, which the opponent of corona vaccines and measures does not take.
‘Month-long smear campaign’
But according to Van Ranst, Engel is only out to attract attention and make life miserable for him. The virologist, who invariably defends himself, spends a lot of time on it that he would rather spend on more important things. ,,I am the victim of a months-long smear campaign from the corner of Virus Truth and the far right. I’ve put 400 hours into this process, so I’ve lost a lot of time again. Time is a precious commodity for me,” says Van Ranst.
Engel is indeed taking Van Ranst to court too lightly, the court finds. The Dutchman has to pay the professor, opinion maker and corona advisor of the Belgian government 4000 euros.
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Reckless and irritating
In an initial reaction to the verdict, the professor virologist is relieved. “I am pleased that the court has followed my argument and has accepted the award of my requested compensation in connection with the reckless and vexatious lawsuit,” it sounds.
The awarding of such damages by the court does not happen very often. Van Ranst now also hopes that the summonses will come to an end. Whether that will actually be the case remains to be seen. The dance teacher can still appeal the verdict. Before the trial that was declared inadmissible, Engel already did. This case will not be heard until 2023 at the earliest.
offended
Engel already lost a similar case against Van Ranst in September. Because the Belgian had spoken out in front of a television camera this time and not in the newspaper, Engel saw an opportunity to try again. The previous attempt failed because the rules in Belgium for penalizing statements in the newspaper are much stricter. But this time too, according to the judge, there is no question of slander and defamation.
Van Ranst only insulted Engel in the offending television interview, the Public Prosecution Service stated earlier.
Countless lawsuits
Virus truth has filed numerous lawsuits against the government’s corona policy since the coronavirus outbreak. In only one case, the group was initially vindicated, leading to a curfew ban, but that ruling was overturned on appeal.
A large-scale complaint has been filed against Engel in recent weeks. According to the initiators of the report, Engel is guilty of incitement, dissemination of medical disinformation, fraud and statements with a terrorist intent. Initiator Norbert Dikkeboom of the mass declaration has collected numerous statements by Engel in recent months, which, according to him, are downright punishable. “He does not contribute in any way whatsoever to the debate, but with his lies he causes destabilization and polarization in society,” said Dikkeboom.
The verdicts are collected in the public declaration, which people can sign via rapportwillemengel.nl. Dikkeboom expects the website to be up and running within the next week. He will then submit the declaration to the Public Prosecution Service. A collective report has been chosen, says Dikkeboom, so as not to flood police stations with individual reports.
Engel is aware of the declaration. According to the Virus Truth foreman, there are no criminal offenses in the report, so he calls them false.
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