“What happened to Thierry Bode in Ghent is unacceptable. You can fight with words the ideas of politicians you don’t agree with, but never with violence,” commented Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Dutch far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) party announced tonight that it is suspending its election campaign ahead of next month’s election, after its leader was attacked by a man who hit him with an umbrella.
In footage posted online, a man violently punches Thierry Bodet, the leader of the FvD, who arrived Thursday night at Ghent University for a conference organized by a student union.
The attacker was quickly removed by police while Bode was led inside the building and then delivered his speech as normal.
Thierry Bodet is a controversial MP who promotes conspiracy theories and is known for his open support of Moscow.
“The Forum for Democracy suspends for the next few days its election campaign due to the incident that took place in Ghent,” the party said, clarifying that Bode suffered a “slight concussion.”
According to Dutch media, the perpetrator of the attack is of “Ukrainian origin” and was targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What happened to Thierry Bode in Ghent is unacceptable. You can fight with words the ideas of politicians you don’t agree with, but never with violence,” commented Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The attack evoked memories of the assassination of Pim Fortuyn, a populist far-right politician who was killed in 2002 during his election campaign. The perpetrator, Volker van der Graaf, was an animal rights and environmental activist. He was arrested, sentenced to 18 years in prison and paroled in 2014.
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
