The Brussels prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into “involuntary manslaughter” after a 23-year-old black man at a police station lost consciousness shortly after his arrest. He later died at the hospital.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Liedts Square in Brussels. The video of the scene showed altercations when protesters threw stones and projectiles while police used a water cannon.
Some protesters wore Black Lives Matter signs and shouted, “We want the truth.”
The palace of Belgian King Philippe has ‘briefly been trapped’, the palace told CNN.
The king was not the target and ‘his safety was never endangered’, they said.
A death in police custody
The deaths that caused Wednesday’s protests took place on Saturday after police “checked” a group of people who were meeting despite coronavirus measures restricting public gatherings.
A man – identified as Ibrahima B. by the lawyer representing his family – fled on foot and was taken by police for questioning, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
“When he arrived at the police station, IB lost consciousness and the police officers present called the emergency services.” An ambulance and an emergency team arrived at the scene and IB was taken to the hospital. He died at the hospital at 20:22. ‘added the statement.
The family’s lawyer Alexis Deswaef told Belgian television during a protest over his death on Wednesday: “I know one thing – if it was my son, who was white and the same age, it would not have happened.”
Deswaef told CNN that “the family was told that their son had a heart defect”, but that it “would not be the only cause of death”.
Toxicology tests “show traces of narcotics”, the lawyer added, but it “does not declare death.”
Federal Commissioner General Marc De Mesmaeker responded to the protests on Thursday: “We can understand that emotions are running high … but the way they are done is completely unacceptable.”
He accused protesters of committing acts of “vandalism” and said five police officers had been injured in the riots.
Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said on Twitter on Wednesday: “We can in no way accept what happened today … The rioters will not get away with it.”