A Dernière Heure reporter doing a report on the recent incidents in Charleroi was placed under administrative arrest after officers accused him of being a “fake journalist”. He spent the night in a cell before being released with little to no explanation.
Patrick Lèfebvre, a Dernière Heure correspondent, explained he was filming confrontations near the Marsupilami round-about when he was intercepted by a police officer. “I was wearing my labelled orange vest and I had my official press card around my neck”, he said.
“The officer asked me to leave the area. Afterwards his colleague, having spotted I was a journalist, let me get on with my work but told me to be careful. As I was filming the officers intercepting the protesters, they asked me to stand in front of them with the protesters. Later an officer grabbed me from behind and claimed I was a fake journalist so he could arrest me. I was left in a cell, without my shoes and belt, until 7am. I was then released with no explanation or questioning. Only a ranked officer apologised to me”.
The journalist is currently deciding what to do about the arrest, which he claims was “arbitrary”.
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The Brussels Times
