Police detain protesters at unauthorised demonstration in Anderlecht
After Thursday evening’s violence in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht, for the second day running protesters gathered to vent their dissatisfaction at a decision by the Brussels Judicial authorities not to prosecute the police officers that were involved in a fatal accident in which a 19-year-old man died in April.
On the evening of Friday 11 April, the 19-year-old died after the moped he was driving crashed into a police vehicle involved in a chase. The young man was trying to escape from a police check linked to the corona restrictions.
On Thursday the Judicial Authorities announced that they had found no reason to justify mounting a prosecution of the police officers that were involved in the events that lead to the tragic accidents. This was met with anger by many and a group gather on the square outside Anderlecht Town Hall, a building that is in the same area of Anderlecht as where the dead youngster lived. While many had gathered simply to vent their malcontent, other were out to cause trouble.
On Friday police left nothing to chance and they were out in force and ready to act to prevent any unauthorised demonstration taking place. Our reporter at the scene says that around 100 demonstrators gathered in front of the Town Hall demanding what they see as “justice for Adil (the young man that died). They were pushed back into the nearby Van Lindtstraat and surrounded. Water canons were deployed but not used. Dozens of the demonstrators were detained and taken away.
The Mayor of Anderlecht Fabrice Cumps (Francophone socialist) told the Brussels regional news platform Bruzz that he believed that the protest had been “hijacked by anarchists” and that this is highly regrettable.
