Dries Van Langenhove: On the Record

This page records specific public conduct. It does not claim knowledge of private beliefs or motives.

Documented record

• March 12, 2024: On March 12, 2024, a Ghent, Belgium correctional court convicted Dries Van Langenhove — former Belgian MP and founder of the far-right youth group Schild & Vrienden — under Belgium's racism and Holocaust-negationism law, sentencing him to one year in prison, a €16,000 fine, and 10 years' loss of civil rights including the right to hold public office. Source 1 Source 2

Context and response

Van Langenhove denied involvement in the content underlying the charges and has framed the prosecution as an attack on free speech; he pursued recusal motions and an appeal. Per Wikipedia (citing Brussels Times), a Ghent appeals court in June 2025 upheld the guilty verdict but suspended the prison sentence due to procedural delay, and a further appeal was rejected in January 2026 — so the conviction has since been affirmed on appeal, not overturned.

Where Galil stands

Our opinion: We don't do business with public figures a court has found guilty of spreading Nazi-sympathetic, Holocaust-denying rhetoric — that finding has since been upheld on appeal.

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Sources manually reviewed 2026-07-27. Corrections and later context will be appended to this page.