Earlier today, Varg Vikernes was found guilty by a French court of inspiring racial hatred via his blog. Last year, he’d been accused of plotting terrrorist attacks, but released several days later due to lack of evidence. However, he was charged with inciting racial hatred and defending war crimes. The trial, however, was postponed until this year. When it began in June, he’d claimed that he was innocent, stating that other people had been writing racist and anti-Semitic posts claiming to be him. Vikernes, was handed a six-month suspended sentence and fined €8,000 (about $10,000). That’s relatively modest, considering that he’d faced up to five years in jail and a €45,000 ($61,000) fine.
Vikernes, who has released 12 albums under the name Burzum, was not present when the verdict was announced, nor was his lawyer, according to thelocal.no. There were ten excerpts from his blogs presented in the court that attacked Muslims and Jews. Six months isn’t that big of a deal for Varg – he’d served 15 years of a 21-year sentence for the murder of his former Mayhem bandmate Euronymous and burning churches in Norway. So far, there’s been no comment on the verdict from Vikernes, but he could appeal it.
