Students involved in Sanda Dia's death named, YouTube video removed
Popular Flemish YouTuber Acid cannot post any new videos for a week after his video in which he revealed names, photos and jobs of several members of the now defunct Reuzegom student fraternity that organised the hazing as a result of which fellow student Sanda Dia died. In recent days there has been much criticism of the sentences meted out by an Antwerp court last Friday that are often seen as too lenient.
The Antwerp court of appeal passed sentence on 18 members of the former student fraternity Reuzegom last Friday. The 18 were all actively involved in a hazing ceremony in which a fellow student died. Sanda Dia was a 20-year-old student at Leuven University (KU Leuven). In late 2018 he died after the hazing ritual organised by the now-defunct Reuzegom student fraternity. The 18 defendants were acquitted on charges of administering harmful substances and criminal negligence, but found guilty of accidental killing, degrading treatment and breaches of animal welfare legislation. The court sentenced them to between 200- and 300-hours of community service. They were also issued with 400-euro fines and ordered to pay compensation to the family of the student that lost his life, Sanda Dia.
The video posted by Acid, in which he names names and former members of the student fraternity not involved in the hazing, has since been taken offline by YouTube but is still being reposted by other users.
"We have removed the content and issued a warning to the channel for violating our policy on harassment," YouTube says.
In the video that Acid - real name Nathan Vandergunst - posted online yesterday, he shared the names, photos and jobs of some members of the Reuzegom fraternity including those of some former members who were not involved in the death. The video has since been removed from the channel by YouTube itself. "After reviewing the video, we removed the content," YouTube says in a written response. The video, meanwhile, is still being eagerly re-uploaded by other users and on other media, including TikTok.
Acid also received a slap on the wrist under YouTube’s code. "We gave the channel a warning for violating our policy on harassment. That policy says that content that targets a person with prolonged or malicious insults based on certain characteristics is strictly prohibited."