Protest escalates after suspicious death of young man arrested by police

Belgian police made several arrests on Wednesday in the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek at the end of a demonstration in tribute to a young man who died on Saturday during a police check, said a police spokesperson. from Brussels. “Calm has returned,” said Audrey Dereymaeker, who evokes “incidents” such as “degradation of street furniture and vehicles”, as well as “throwing projectiles” against the police.

A police station was also briefly set on fire, but the fire “was quickly brought under control”. Two police officers present in these premises were transported to the hospital “for safety reasons” and two others were injured during the operations of maintenance of order, but “their days are not in danger”, underlined Audrey Dereymaeker .

A demonstration of 500 people

These incidents took place following a demonstration of 500 people in the afternoon in the Brussels municipality, near the police station where the young man was taken after the police check on January 9. According to the Belgian press, the victim, Ibrahima B., was 23 years old.

He loses consciousness at the police station and dies in the hospital

The Brussels public prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday that an investigating judge had been appointed to conduct an investigation “for manslaughter” in order to clarify the circumstances of the young man’s death. The prosecution had given Monday in a statement elements on the circumstances of the death. According to this press release, the police proceeded on Saturday evening to “control a group of people gathered” despite “the measures” in force because of the Covid-19.

At the end of this check, Ibrahima B. fled “on foot” before being arrested, according to the same source. When he arrived at the police station, he lost consciousness and died a little later in the hospital, according to the prosecution. Committee P, the Belgian police force, was seized.