Belgium: Police and criminal justice system
01 January 1991
Belgium: Police and criminal justice system
artdoc April=1995
Council of Europe highlights police violence
The Council of Europe has issued a report critical of the Belgian
police for using violence against detainees, especially
foreigners. The report also criticises the police for using
violence at airports during expulsions (Weekly Journal 20.10.94).
Complaints filed against police following identity checks
A group in Antwerp has taken up five cases of police harassment,
two of which are documented in Solidaire.
Nouredine T. was arrested on 5 June after an identity check in
a cafe. At Borgerhout police station, he says he was beaten so
badly by the police that a fibula was broken. The police refused
to call an ambulance but released him onto the streets where a
passer-by discovered him and called an ambulance. Another man,
Mourat G., also alleges he was attacked by the police after an
identity check. When he attempted to use a baton in self-defence,
one officer pulled a gun on him. The police later took him to
hospital. Both men have made complaints against the police
(Solidaire no. 34, 7.9.94).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 11, December 1994. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 0171 837 0041