Former UvA lecturer Buijs sentenced to five months in prison

Former University of Amsterdam lecturer Laurens Buijs has been sentenced to five months in prison, three of which are suspended. He defamed colleagues online and shared their personal details.

On social media platforms X and Facebook, Buijs accused colleagues, journalists and doctors of paedophilia, corruption and genocide, among other things. He referred to one as ‘a cold-blooded paedophile serial killer’ and another as ‘a first-class rat and paedophile psychopath from a dangerously far-left family’.

He also shared personal information of several victims, such as names, photos and addresses, and called for a ‘people’s tribunal’ to be held on Dam Square in Amsterdam.

‘Remorseful’

Buijs was a lecturer and researcher at the University of Amsterdam for many years, specialising in gender, sexuality and diversity. He gained attention after warning of what he saw as a ‘radical woke culture’ within the university in Folia. Not long after, he began harassing colleagues via Twitter.

According to his lawyer, Buijs is remorseful for his actions and ‘is no longer the same person who made these statements’. A psychiatrist who assessed Buijs diagnosed him with ‘depression with anxious tension’ and a possible bipolar disorder. He is also reported to have problematic cannabis use.

Prison sentence

Buijs was ultimately found guilty of doxing, defamation, insult, threats and incitement. He was sentenced to five months in prison (which he had already served in pre-trial detention), three of which are suspended. He is also banned from contacting the individuals he wrote about online for two years.

According to the court, his behaviour is not protected under the right to freedom of expression. His statements ‘contributed to further polarisation in society’.