Wouter Verhelst & Debian: another expulsion for vigilantism?
Wouter Verhelst is the latest Debian Developer to be removed from the Debian keyring.
Nobody has publicly stated whether this was a resignation or an expulsion. Sometimes there is little difference. Sometimes people are blackmailed to resign.
Wouter was responsible for acts of vigilantism against another volunteer at FOSDEM 2022. Wouter's behavior and anger problems have contributed to the ongoing disclosures that multiple people have made from debian-private (leaked) gossip network.
Wouter effectively used the resources and infrastructure of FOSDEM VZW, a Belgian non-profit, to continue a vendetta from the FSFE e.V., a German non-profit.
In particular, Wouter has been removed from Debian shortly after the disclosures about the Debian Day suicide of Frans Pop. Pop was from Netherlands, Wouter is from Belgium, an adjacent country. Many developers who know Pop personally are frustrated that the vendettas have reached this level.