On Wednesday, a Dutch court barred the leader of the populist Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, Thierry Bodet, from comparing the restrictive measures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with the Holocaust.
The case was brought against the Dutch MP by four Holocaust survivors and various associations, AFP reported.
Thierry Bodet was ordered to delete various social media posts within 48 hours, and in the future, he can no longer use images of the Holocaust as part of his criticism of health measures imposed by covid-19.
“The position of Jews is implicitly understated” by the “disproportionate” comparison of health care policy to the Holocaust, said the judge, quoted by Dutch broadcaster NOS.
The judge in charge of the case stressed that there is “a pressing social need to intervene to protect the interests of Holocaust survivors, their families and the public debate itself.”
Thierry Bodet, on the other hand, considered this a “surreal and incomprehensible judgment,” announcing the feature in a post posted on Twitter.
Process initiated by four Jews who survived World War II
The process was initiated by four Jewish survivors of World War II, a group that brings together Jewish organizations in the Netherlands (CJO) and the Israel Documentation and Information Center (CIDI), which monitors anti-Semitism in the country.
The prosecution cited several tweets from the FvD populist leader, notably one stating that “the unvaccinated are the new Jews,” as well as posts that did not allow for exceptions. [à vacinação] “New Nazis”.
Thierry Bodet also posted two images side by side: one of a child who was not allowed to go to a party, and the other of a boy from a ghetto in Lodz, Poland, wearing the Star of David before being deported.
The prosecutor’s office even criticized the politician for sharing a photo of the Buchenwald concentration camp with the comment: “How can you not see how history is still repeating itself.”
If you do not withdraw these publications, Bode will be fined 25,000 euros per day.
CIDI expressed “relief” after learning of the verdict, even though it emphasized that through this process it is not seeking to take “a position in the debate on measures against covid-19.”
