Belgium’s Speech Police Are Prosecuting Nathan Cofnas
Unia, which receives 82% of its funding from European governments, attacks political dissent and religious groups
Unia has brought a criminal “anti-racism” lawsuit against Nathan Cofnas, the academic who exposed the Cambridge plagiarism scandal. They accuse Cofnas of violating the “anti-racism law” in this academic lecture. Belgium’s speech crimes include jail times of up to six months to three years for “public incitement to discrimination, segregation, hatred or violence” or “public dissemination of ideas based on racial hatred or racial superiority”.
Unia’s 2025 accounting income1
Using this law, Unia has become Beglium’s speech police, targeting Belgians whose ideas they consider “hate speech”. Unia has advocated for a constitutional amendment to expand the criminalization of what they consider “hate speech”. Later in the same report, they include the terms “opengrenzenbeleid” (“open borders”) and “massa-immigratie” (“mass immigration”) in their definition. Based on their own documents, it is clear that Belgium’s speech policing is directed not merely towards fringe or violent movements, but also towards mainstream conservative politics.
Unia is given a privileged legal status by the EU. Unia is a ‘trusted flagger’ under the EU Digital Services Act, which mandates that platforms censor speech ‘flagged’ by organizations like Unia. The Digital Services Act has previously been used to censor information globally, including Americans’ information, during the Ceuta crisis.
Unia describes itself as an independent public service (“service public indépendant”). Financially, this is a lie. Unia receives 82% of its revenue directly from governments. Its remaining revenue includes sales to those same governments.
In the past, Unia has successfully sent Belgians to jail for “incitement, dissemination of racist ideas” for posting antisemitic memes in Facebook and Discord groups.2 It has also successfully prosecuted the anti-immigration party Vlaams Blok under the “anti-racism” law.
Unia acts as a radical vanguard, using their state funding to push the boundaries, sometimes unsuccessfully, of criminalizing speech in Belgium. In a 2021 case, Unia successfully sued and fined Jehovah’s Witnesses for instructing members not to communicate with ex-members. The Ghent Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in June 2022 and the Court of Cassation rejected Unia’s challenge in December 2023.
The US State Department has previously sanctioned European officials responsible for the censorship of Americans online, including Imran Ahmed, Josephine Ballon, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, Clare Melford, and Thierry Breton. The following are the leadership of Unia, Belgium’s speech police:
| Els Keytsman De Ronne | Director |
| Patrick Charlier | Director |
| Shaireen Aftab | Board member |
| Hanne De Roo | Board member |
| Ellen Desmet | Board member |
| Abdelkarim Bellafkih | Board member |
| Jogchum Vrielink | Board member |
| Sotieta Ngo | Board member |
| Bernadette Renauld | Board member |
| Charles-Eric Clesse | Board member |
| Pierre-Arnaud Perrouty | Board member |
| Didier Dochain | Board member |
| Nastasja Wartel | Board member |
| David Quinaux | Board member |
| Fahim De Leener | Board member |
| Shadi Farkhojasteh | Board member |
| Corentin Delmotte | Board member |
| Pierre-Alexandre Asmanis De Schacht | Board member |
| Dirk Schleihs | Board member |
| Leila Bougrine | Substitute board member |
| Saloua El Moussaoui | Substitute board member |
| Dirk Jacobs | Substitute board member |
| Pauline Tombus | Substitute board member |
| Achilvie Docketh-Yemalayen | Substitute board member |
| Pierre Nilles | Substitute board member |
| Vincent Yzerbyt | Substitute board member |
| Gisèle Marliere | Substitute board member |
| Christophe Jambers | Substitute board member |
| Joeri Behets | Substitute board member |
| Anne Banet | Substitute board member |
| Hajar Lawrizy | Substitute board member |
| Uwe Köberich | Substitute board member |
1 Unia, 2025 annual report, p. 85.
2 Schild & Vrienden — court judgments (PDF): Ghent criminal court, 12 March 2024; Ghent Court of Appeal, 20 June 2025 (judgment extract); Court of Cassation, 13 January 2026. Vlaams Blok associations — court judgments (PDF): Ghent Court of Appeal, 21 April 2004; Court of Cassation, 9 November 2004. Jehovah’s Witnesses — court judgments (PDF): Ghent criminal court, 16 March 2021; Ghent Court of Appeal, 7 June 2022; Court of Cassation, 19 December 2023.