A man who suffered from a heart attack after being arrested for praying on the street died on Tuesday after 10 days in hospital.
The Liège police arrested the man on 19 October for kneeling and praying in the middle of the Chaussée des Prés in the district of Outremeuse and disturbing traffic.
"It was not the praying that was a problem. It was the fact that he was doing it in the middle of the street and behaving erratically, which is why the local residents called our services," explained the Liège police.
The man, who was under the influence of unconfirmed substances, was reportedly not in control of himself when he arrived at the police station. Soon after arriving, he suffered from a heart attack.
The man was transported to a nearby hospital where he stayed for 10 days.
"Our police are regularly faced with people who are under the strong influence of substances. It causes discomfort to some people [in which case] they are systematically taken care of by the medical services. The administrative arrest for disturbing public order is then lifted", the spokeswoman of the Liège police told Belga news agency.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
