Acid is bitter
Acid is right
The fate of Sanda Dia has been discussed on this blog previously:
Sanda Dia’s fate, at the hands of the Reuzegommers, is as much of a cause célèbre in Belgium as the fates of Julie and Mélissa were, at the hands of Marc Dutroux. Julie and Mélissa were two young girls, among the many victims, of paedophile and murderer Dutroux, whose name is known around the world and who currently sits in Nivelles Prison in Belgium, where he shall remain till the end of his days, for the crimes he committed in 1996. Those who aided and abetted him in his criminal acts have never faced trial; twenty witnesses who submitted evidence to the police prior to Dutroux’s trial all died in mysterious circumstances before they could testify; but Dutroux is paying the price for his acts of infamy. Rightly so.
If they keep their noses clean in this pollen-laden season, the Reuzegommers will not go to jail. Instead, they will pass Go and collect their regular salaries for the rest of their lives. And, if the powers that be have their way, no one will ever know their names, as they enter the business life they aspire to as Leuven university students. But their acts, deemed not to be on the par with kidnapping, molesting and murdering small children, also led to a death, deemed by a court of law to be unintentional: Sanda Dia’s.
During the investigations and the trial itself, which took four years to complete, great pains were taken to ensure that the identities of the accused, now culprits, none of whom is a minor, were kept from the public eye. At trial, they were identified by nicknames and now, it seems, now that they have been condemned by the justice system for a crime that led to the death of an innocent individual, it seems their names are still to be concealed from public view. Dame Justice, who has handed down a judgement of citizens of this country after they have been tried for a crime against our mores and laws and found guilty as charged, will not reveal to her citizens who the culprits of this dreadful set of circumstances are.
Acid is the nickname of a blogger whose name we do know. He is Nathan Vandergunst. He is a jochie, a fast lad who publishes popular items on YouTube and has just been told to go away for a week and think about his policy of revealing the names of convicted criminals in his homeland Belgium. He’s been suspended from YouTube.
It is easy to take the view that Mr Vandergunst is a rabble-rouser, that he seeks a vendetta against those who were so insouciant of the life of a university student who simply wanted to belong to a club.
Mr Vandergunst has flair, and style, and speaks his mind. And, when push comes to shove, I believe he is right. Belgium’s general public has as much right to know who the miscreants were in this sad, shameful affair as they have to know the identity of the man who killed Julie and Mélissa. They committed a crime. They have been found guilty. I am all in favour of protecting the innocence of those who are presumed innocent until proved guilty. But protecting the identities of those who are condemned at law for a crime against society? They can surely expect no such favourable treatment?
Acid is sour, Acid is bitter and Acid is right.
