Belgian virologist threatened by anti-lockdown group | Abroad

“MVR is going to die. The assignment has been given. ” An anonymous user writes this on the website of viruswaanzin.be. He is followed by two others on the website. “I have said it from the beginning that that foolish man MVR must be burned at the stake. Let us light the torches ”, someone writes. Another person responds: “You take care of the feathers and then I take care of used oil. Pitch is a bit harder to get. ”

The responses have presumably been deleted in the meantime. But virologist Marc Van Ranst posted the hate messages on Twitter. “This is gang building, and these people are radicalizing,” he writes. The police of Ghent indicates that they are investigating the incident, but does not want to say anything more about it for the time being.

It is not the first time that the virologist has received death threats. At the beginning of March, the police of Ypres once made an official report against a Twitterer who made death threats, in January a well-known chef wrote death threats on Twitter, and in July 2020 Van Ranst even received police protection after threats from the extreme right corner. Van Ranst also went to court several times when such threats were made against him. And he also took on plastic surgeon Jeff Hoeyberghs. He wrote a letter to the Order of Doctors to have the virologist, but also then Minister of Health Maggie De Block, deleted.

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