Roeland Raes
Roland Henri Theofiel (Roeland) Raes (born 4 September 1934) is a Belgian politician, active in the Vlaams Blok and the Voorpost.
He was charged with "Holocaust denial" after saying on Dutch television in 2001: "I doubt the systematism of the extermination of the Jews and I also doubt the number of deaths, [...] and also whether camps such as Auschwitz were all meant to be extermination camps." During the interview, Raes however had no doubts about the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews. In 2008, he was given a suspended sentence of 4 months imprisonment. The Brussels court of appeal in 2010 confirmed Raes was guilty of "negationism", and awarded 1,800 EUR damages to both The Forum of Jewish Organisations and the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism. Raes did not receive a sentence, because the court decided the case had taken unreasonably long.
