Incident at Charleroi Airport: “Police were violent and aggressive”
A second witness, who was on board the same flight as Jozef Chovanec, the Slovakian who died after rough police treatment at Charleroi Airport over two years ago, has confirmed earlier reports that the 38-year-old businessman seemed confused, but didn’t act in an aggressive fashion. “The flight crew was in a hurry and acted in an amateurish fashion. The police were called in too quickly and were violent” says fellow passenger Vojtech Eksler.
Mr Chovanec spoke with Mr Eksler twice before boarding the Ryanair flight. “He was worried about his ticket and was seeking confirmation he was at the right gate.
“Flight staff were in a hurry. It was the last flight of the day.”
Mr Chovanec’s fellow passenger says staff seemed “indifferent”, the procedure followed “amateurish”. Police were brought in too readily.
The two passengers were separated when they boarded: Mr Chovanec at the front, Mr Eksler at the rear. The latter couldn’t easily follow the conversation, but clearly there was an issue. Mr Chovanec did not resist says Mr Eksler, but once down on the tarmac there was a bit of a struggle. The incident left Mr Eksler with a bad taste in is mouth: The police behaviour he terms “violent and aggressive”.