British Internet porn images sent to Royal by campaigners

 The British Royal family has been sent photographs of children being sexually tortured by campaigners seeking to raise awareness of the fight against child porn.

The Belgian Morkhoven Group said the photos were among 70,000 images found on the Internet. It said many came from Austria but gave no details of where, or why, they originated there.

Six photographs and a covering letter were sent to 1,500 politicians and political leaders around Europe, as well as to the British, Dutch and Belgian three royal families, said the group, named after a Belgian village.

''On the Internet, you can find tens of thousands of children being tortured and sexually molested,'' the letter said. ''The public authorities don't take enough action to trace and punish the organisers and executors."

The group said the photographs sent with the letter, ''prove that the longer these people continue, the more brutal they become to sell these terrible images over the Internet and elsewhere.''

Morkhoven spokesman Marcel Vervloesem said some images portrayed ''real torture. We have never before found these kinds of images.'' He said he hoped the action would prompt European leaders to coordinate their anti-child porn legislation and crack down on those responsible.

Prosecutors in Antwerp said they would study the material before deciding whether to launch an investigation.

(archives.tcm.ie)

 

British monarchy besieged by Net child porn stunt

By Tim Richardson

Published Tuesday 13th April 1999 21:39 GMT

The British Royal family may be about to become the target of a sick paedophile publicity stunt aimed at raising awareness concerning child pornography on the Internet. According to a news item on the BBC's Ceefax TV information service tonight, a Belgian anti-porn pressure group -- the Morkhaven Group -- has sent disturbing material to the Royal Family in a bid to galvanise support for a unified European policy against Net porn.

The Morkhaven Group has also targeted political leaders right across Europe although there is no confirmation yet as to whether anyone has received the material.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace confirmed that he was aware that a threat had been made to send child pornography to the Royals after being tipped off by a British tabloid earlier this evening. Despite this threat he told The Register that as of 9.30 pm BST (British Summer Time) tonight, no such material had been received. The Royal spokesman added that he was unaware whether the material would be sent through the mail or posted directly onto the Royal Family's official Web site (www.royal.gov.uk/) but on balance, he said it was most likely that the photographs would be sent via the post.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said tonight he was unaware of the threat but would investigate further.

www.theregister.co.uk