116 people were arrested during the riots that broke out after the demonstration on Wednesday for the death of Ibrahima Barrie (23) after his arrest by the Brussels North police.
It concerned 112 administrative arrests, 30 of which were minors, and four judicial arrests, according to the Brussels North police zone (Schaerbeek/Evere/Sint-Joost-ten-Node).
Late on Wednesday night, Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne already tweeted that "more than 100 people" had been arrested, adding that "under no circumstances can we accept what happened [Wednesday] in Schaerbeek."
Onder geen enkel beding kunnen we aanvaarden wat er vandaag in Schaarbeek gebeurde. Onderzoeken zijn volop bezig. Meer dan 100 mensen zijn gearresteerd. Relschoppers zullen niet vrijuit gaan.
— ᴠɪɴᴄᴇɴᴛ ᴠᴀɴ Qᴜɪᴄᴋᴇɴʙᴏʀɴᴇ (@VincentVQ) January 13, 2021
He added that investigations had been opened, and that "rioters will not go unpunished."
Approximately 500 people gathered at the Brussels North police station on Wednesday afternoon to demand clarity about the death of Ibrahima Barrie, who died about an hour after being arrested last weekend.
At riots that broke out after the demonstration, protestors clashed with the police and started throwing stones at them. In Schaerbeek, the police station was even set on fire.
One demonstrator and five police officers were injured, according to the police.
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In the meantime, the results of the autopsy, revealed by the family's lawyer, have shown that Barrie died of a heart attack.
Police oversight body Committee P has also opened an investigation into involuntary manslaughter, according to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.
According to Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, who condemned the riots, “everything will be done to see if anything went wrong during the intervention, but there is no indication of that to date."
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
