Conditional jail sentence recommended against Covid conspiracy theorist Willem Engel

A community service order of 140 hours and a conditionally suspended prison sentence of three months have been recommended on appeal against Virus Waarheid leader Willem Engel for sedition. The activist is said to have posted inflammatory texts about the coronavirus on social media between June 2020 and November 2021, such as a call to take pictures of employees at vaccination centers and to participate in a banned demonstration.

The advocate general described Engel’s comments as “dangerous and risky” in the Court of Appeal in The Hague on Wednesday. He also said they were full of “dog whistles,” which is said to describe something with a hidden messaging for the people who want to hear it.

The court acquitted Engels on most charges in 2023. He was sentenced to a conditionally suspended prison sentence of a month after prosecutors had recommended 180 hours community service and a three month conditionally suspended prison sentence. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) appealed the verdict.

Engel has denied the accusations. He believes that the prosecution is politically motivated. “We have been doing this for four years. I cannot close an insurance. I cannot open a bank account. It is not pleasant, let’s just put it that way,” he said to the court.

The court in The Hague acquitted Engel last year for a different case related to sedition and ignoring a command by the police. He allegedly ordered people to arrest police officers during a demonstration in The Hague. A conditionally suspended fine of 250 euros and 90 hours of community service was recommended during that case.