Brussels cancel culture mayor who tried to stop Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman once hosted Iranian politician sanctioned by the UK for human rights abuses and Russian officials

The Brussels mayor who tried to block a right-wing conference attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman on Tuesday once hosted an Iranian politician since sanctioned by the UK and implicated in 'rights violations or abuses' in Iran.

Mayor Philippe Close, who pressured a venue in Belgium not to host the National Conservatism Conference on Tuesday, last June welcomed Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani to the Brussels Urban Summit alongside a number of global counterparts.

Despite joining in efforts to push back on the conservative event in Belgium, Close at the time championed the congress focusing on 'sustainable development and social inclusion' alongside the standing mayor of the Iranian capital.

The event caused controversy in Belgium and prompted the resignation of Brussels' foreign affairs minister, Pascal Smet, who admitted it was a mistake to invite Zakani along with 14 Iranian officials and two Russians - put up in hotel rooms at Belgium's expense.

Zakani, an ultra-conservative within Iran, was soon after placed on the UK's sanctions list, 'because he is and has been involved in the commission of serious human rights violations or abuses in Iran'.

Close was nonetheless among several who attempted to stop the National Conservatism Conference from going ahead yesterday, as police officers told organisers authorities were intervening due to the 'possibility of public disorder'.

A top Belgian court ultimately ruled overnight that attempts to shut down the event were in violation the country's constitutional right to peaceful assembly, allowing it to go ahead on its second day.

Zakani was among 162 individuals named in a financial sanctions document published by HM Treasury in December, alongside various politicians accused of complicity or involvement in torture, violations of human rights and abuse.

The Tehran mayor was himself accused of 'being responsible for, engaging in and promoting serious violations of the right to freedom of expression, as well as breaches of Iran's obligation to secure the human rights of persons in Iran without discrimination including on the basis of a person's sex, through determining and enforcing mandatory dress codes for women'.

He was first listed in March 2023, months before the mayoral event in Brussels took place.

Mayor Close, also at the event last summer, joined Emir Kir, the mayor of Brussels' Saint-Josse district, and Vicent de Wolf, the liberal mayor of Etterbeek, this Tuesday in pushing to obstruct the conservative conference attended by Farage.

Kir, said yesterday he would 'immediately take measures to ban' the event when it moved to the Claridge event space, after Close put pressure on the Concert Noble event space to stop the event and de Wolf ushered it away from the luxury Sofitel hotel.

Kir said he was banning the event from taking place in the Belgian capital 'to guarantee public safety'.

'In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome,' he added.

National Conservatism insisted that the conference was 'extremely peaceful' with 'absolutely no public disturbance.'

They also extended an invitation to Kir to join the discussions. 

The conference eventually returned to the Claridge in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode today after a top Belgian court ruled the ban would violate rights enshrined in the constitution.

The organisers had mounted a legal challenge after Kir brought in the closure order, The Telegraph reported today.

Kir was himself thrown out of the socialist part in Brussels in 2020 after meeting with politicians from Turkey's far-right.

Kir wrote on Twitter/X today:  'Being a Mayor means being a guarantor of public safety. My order banning this demonstration was based on an analysis by Ocam. 

'My lack of sympathy for those who preach hatred is assumed but it is the maintenance of public order which motivated the ban. 

'We are in a state of law. Justice has ruled, the event is maintained today. 

'I have taken my responsibilities to prevent any overflow and I will remain vigilant as to how things unfold.'

The handling of the event by local authorities has drawn fire from European politicians, condemning the perceived attack on freedom of expression.

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo slammed the 'unconstitutional' attempt to shut down the event as 'unacceptable'.

Viktor Orbán, attending today, said on Facebook: 'Brussels just moved up a gear. If anyone stands up for peace, they are simply banned.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the reports of police action were 'extremely disturbing'.

Writing in The Telegraph yesterday, Mr Farage said: 'I can see a growing number are beginning to understand what this globalist project of ever closer union represents.'

'It is not just undemocratic but anti-democratic in its very nature,' the ex-MEP rounded off, calling the clash possibly 'my most productive day ever in Brussels'.