Illustrative. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

A Belgian man was sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday for his refusal to remove the Nazi flags and slogans that adorn his house in the town of Keerbergen.

Georges Boeckstaens — a former corporal in the Belgian army — was defiant after his sentencing, saying that he was “not hurting anyone” with the display at his private residence.

The 77-year-old’s home was the subject of numerous complaints from locals, who referred to it as the “Nazi house.” On view are Third Reich insignias, a giant red Nazi banner hanging from a tree in the garden, the words “Mein Kampf” written in Dutch and a scarecrow resembling Adolf Hitler giving a Nazi salute.

While a previous complaint had been dismissed in 2014, as no criminal offense had been proven, the Leuven Criminal Court this time sentenced Boeckstaens to one year in prison, for incitement to hatred and violence against the Jewish community.

“The investigation has shown that the accused glorified the Nazi regime and approved of the genocide,” said the judge. “In his eyes, the Jews are the shame of the world. From a social point of view, therefore, we have an obligation to incarcerate him.”