A Belgian court has handed down a one-year suspended prison sentence to a police officer who fired the shot that killed a two-year-old girl during a swift chase of suspected human traffickers.
The court in the city of Mons in the south of Belgium ruled that the officer’s version of an accidental shooting was credible, but also found that he had part of the responsibility for the death of the Kurdish child.
According to local media, the driver of the van was sentenced to four years in prison and another suspected smuggler acquitted. The smugglers tried to reach Britain during the pursuit.
In May 2018, the police wanted to investigate a suspicious bakkie en route through Belgium and chased them when the driver tried to evade them. Police fired on the van during the chase and hit Mawda Shawri in the head. She later died from her injuries.
Belgian authorities said pursuing officers shot at the car to try to stop it and did not intend to direct the people inside. The officer who took the shot said he tried to pierce the vehicle’s left front tire and forced it to a halt. A total of 30 people were in the van, including Mawda’s brother and parents.
The officer said he fired his weapon after the van swerved in the direction of the police car. The court said the use of a rifle to stab a tire is an excessive use of force that endangers the passengers of the minibus, as well as other road users.
For many Belgians, Mawda’s death has become a symbol of the injustice facing migrants and refugees from their homelands in search of a better life in Europe. Protesters gathered outside the courthouse on Friday to support Mawda’s family.
Earlier on Friday, Belgian Migration Minister Sammy Mahdi told local broadcaster RTBF that Mawda’s parents had been given permission to stay indefinitely in Belgium and that they would no longer need to renew a temporary residence permit annually.