Thierry Baudet, who is understood for opposing assist to Kiev, was assaulted with an umbrella earlier than a lecture in Belgium
The chief of the right-wing Dutch celebration Discussion board for Democracy (FVD), Thierry Baudet, has been attacked in Belgium by a person who shouted anti-Putin slogans in Ukrainian. The MP had beforehand spoken out in opposition to Western army help for Kiev.
The assault was caught on video, wherein the FVD chief could be seen coming into a college constructing within the Belgian metropolis of Ghent the place he was set to provide a lecture. As he made his manner up the steps, a person in a black hoodie and baseball cap lashed out on the politician, placing him with some sort of object. Dutch information retailers, together with the Netherlands Broadcasting Company (NOS), say Baudet was hit with an umbrella.
Safety companies instantly tackled the assailant to the bottom, the place he’s heard repeatedly shouting “no to fascism, no to Putinism” in Ukrainian. The attacker was later detained by police.
It was reported that Baudet didn’t undergo any accidents within the assault and proceeded to provide the scheduled lecture. He advised NPO Radio 1 that the assault left him with a “vital bump” on the top.
Nederlands politicus @thierrybaudet aangevallen nav toespraak aan @ugent… Politie staat erbij en kijkt ernaar. Hoe dikwijls hebben we dit al meegemaakt? Na #IS-aanslag weeral blamage voor onze veiligheidsdiensten. Rechtse politici zijn opgejaagd wild… pic.twitter.com/6MbJaTWKj5
— Filip Dewinter (@FDW_VB) October 26, 2023
“I used to be in a position to give my lecture after having a glass of water. However it’s in fact very unlucky that this occurred,” Baudet mentioned.
The incident has drawn condemnation from Dutch politicians throughout the political spectrum. Frans Timmermans – a Socialist-Inexperienced politician working within the upcoming Dutch election – mentioned in an X publish that the assault was “utterly unacceptable,” and careworn that “violence ought to by no means be tolerated” and “free speech should be protected and the perpetrator prosecuted.”
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte additionally said on social media that what occurred to Baudet was “unacceptable.”
“You combat the concepts of politicians that you simply disagree with phrases and by no means, ever, with violence,” he mentioned.
Baudet has been accused of being “pro-Russian” over his opposition to sending army assist to Kiev and stating that the battle between Russia and Ukraine was the results of the West’s “tunnel imaginative and prescient.”
He has additionally expressed doubt over the conclusions of the Joint Inquiry Fee investigation into the downing of the Malaysian Boeing MH17 airliner, which claimed that the airplane was shot down by a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile.
Baudet has insisted that Ukraine was responsible for the incident. Russia has additionally repeatedly denied accountability for the downing of the MH17, noting that Ukraine possessed the identical kind of system used to shoot down the airliner.
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