Seven investigations have been opened at the Office of the Public Prosecutor (OPP) in Brussels into police violence against migrants, Denis Goeman, OPP-Brussels spokesman said on Wednesday. The seven dockets have to do with physical violence, robbery and various other abuses. Since it was difficult to ascertain the exact ages and identities of victims and witnesses, they could be both adults and minors.
Contacts have been made between the chief of police of Brussels-North and the OPP to make it easier to lodge complaints.
An investigation by Médecins du Monde, published on Tuesday, showed that 1 out of every 4 migrants faces police violence in Belgium, the association said. The abuses include punches, kicks, beatings with batons, forced and arbitrary strip searches, racketeering, humiliation, being blackmailed into allowing one’s fingerprints to be taken and confiscation of personal objects.
About 27.5% of the respondents were minors at the time of the interview. Some 50% said they had been violently beaten or bitten by police dogs during checks or arrests.
The report is based on the testimonies of 440 persons.
TMeanwhile, te police oversight body, Committee P., has closed the case of the destruction of personal effects at Maximilien Park, after examining the motivations provided, which cited alleged contamination in 2017, the issuing of a special instruction to police missions and respect thereof in 2018.
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The Brussels Times
