The 33-year-old anti-vaxxer is accused of insulting Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. In addition, he is alleged to have incited hatred during a protest against the Covid-19 measures and to have trivialised the Shoah, among other things.
The man arrived in court without a lawyer. He argued that he could not afford one and refused to accept a lawyer provided by the state, since it was the state that was pursuing legal action against him. He therefore tried to defend himself against the charges on his own.
In a series of Facebook posts, he had attacked Prime Minister Xavier Bettel with statements that the representative of the public prosecutor’s office described as “repulsive.” The accused justified a homophobic post by referring to his “dark sense of humour.” At times, however, he showed great resentment towards the Prime Minister. He appears to see the latter as the main person responsible for the Covid-19 measures that led to him losing his job as a chef due to his non-vaccinated status.
The father of two also made other posts on Facebook between late 2020 and early 2022, during the Covid-19 pandemic. He claimed, among other things, that non-vaccinated people would be treated similarly to Jews during WWII. The accused stated that he really felt that way at the time and denied trivialising the Shoah. The prosecution disagreed, arguing that the man could not pretend that the circumstances were comparable.
The trial also addressed various videos posted by the accused on social media during protests against the Covid-19 measures. From a protest against the Covid-19 measures in Brussels, which had escalated, he recorded a video message in which he threatened that the Luxembourgish capital would share the same fate. However, the accused stated that he had never intended to carry out this plan.
The representative of the prosecution did not buy his act of a naïve person who did not know what he was doing and argued that he had demonstrated during the trial that he could express himself without using foul language. She did, however, admit that he is “unteachable,” claiming that this is why he is now in court. During the trial, it also emerged that this is not the first time the accused has had to answer to a judge.
The prosecution is seeking three years in prison with the possibility of probation and a €1,000 fine. The verdict will be pronounced on 24 May.
