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September 28, 2006

Belgium: Muslims Riot In Brussels

Though this story has been conveniently ignored in many print editions of news sources, it is significant, and after a hunt on the internet, I have found references. The story is carried by China View, South African Reuters, United Press International, Expatica, the Scotsman, Newswire, B92 News, IRNA and the BBC, but with the clearest account being written by Paul Belien in the Brussels Journal.

The riots began on Monday, September 25, and continued for three consecutive nights. The cause of the riots stemmed from the death in prison custody of a criminal, who had been taken into prison on September 16, charged with theft. He had spent time in prison before, convicted of stealing and forgery. This individual, 25-year old Fayçal Chaaban, had died in unexplained circumstances in The Forest Prison in Brussels on Sunday (September 24).

Chaaban, a Moroccan, had been reported as "nervous and agitated" and had been prescribed mild sedatives on Saturday, the day before his death. The prisoner had already been in isolation in the Prison de Forest. Currently there is an investigation underway to see if the death was connected to the sedative dose Chaaban had received. His death had not been discovered until Monday, the day the rioting began. Prosecutors have said that the results of toxicology tests will take weeks to return from the laboratory where samples were sent for analysis. Chaaban's body showed no signs of violence.

Most of the rioting was focused on the suburb of La Marolles in Brussels around the Brussels Midi Station, though the rioters had come from various parts of the city and beyond. The rioters were almost exclusively North African Muslims, and were demanding better conditions in Belgian jails, and more protection for inmates.

A group of about 100 were consistently involved in the rioting. Cars had their windows smashed, and shops and bus stops were attacked. Rocks were thrown at the Ministry of Justice, and rocks were also hurled at police and passing pedestrians.

On Tuesday, Chaaban's family asked for calm, but rioters still continued to protest, setting fire to a youth center and attacking shops and cars. By Tuesday evening at 11 pm, 45 people were arrested. Some of those arrested had been found in possession of materials to make molotov cocktails.

On Tuesday afternoon, Minister of Justice Laurette Onkelinx met with the Chaaban family, to reassure them that the Belgian hustice system would do all in its power to ascertain the exact cause of the prisoner's death.

Paul Belien reported yesterday evening that at 8.30 pm, the rioting had broken out again for a third night running. Cars were set alight, and two molotov cocktails were thrown into St Peters' hospital, one of Brussels' main hospitals. Fireman arrived and extinguished the hospital fire, but the youths stole the keys to the fire engine.

The mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, had said on Tuesday on RTBF Radio that he did not expect the riots to worsen, and thanked Chaaban's family for their attempts to calm the situation. However, the following day Philippe Close, the mayor's spokesman, said that the police would be less complacent in future, and the situation where a neighbourhood became attacked by people from other parts could not be tolerated.

As happened last year during the Paris riots, which began while Ramadan was in progress, the rioters only began their protests after dark. The incidents from Monday to Wednesday are the worst case of social unrest since last year when, in imitation of the Paris riots, youths burned 15 cars.

Currently, Belgium is gearing itself up for municipal elections, which take place on October 8, the first for six years. Paul Belien notes that there is a strong likelihood that these elections will be won by anti-immigrant parties.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 28, 2006 10:38 AM

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