Antwerp's Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) has opposed the opening of a new boxing club owned by famous kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik. This decision is due to his family having been violently targeted in recent months, with authorities in Antwerp attempting to crack down on violence in the city.
The Vinci Club gym, owned by Moroccan-Belgian kickboxing champion Jamal Ben Saddik, was supposed to open in the municipality of Deurne on 2 January.
Yet De Wever has intervened to prohibit the gym from opening on the grounds that it is implicated in the growing number of drug-related incidents the city has seen throughout the year. Authorities have attempted to crack down on drug violence in Antwerp but incidents continue to grab headlines throughout the year.
De Wever justified his decision, saying that the gym poses "too great a danger to public order" given recent violent attacks towards the kickboxer's family.
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In recent months, multiple properties owned by the kickboxer have been targeted by fireworks and graffiti, with other shootings in the city having also been linked to Ben Saddik's brother.
In response to De Wever's decision, Ben Saddik had decided to take the matter to court, where he hopes for a ruling in their favour to "oppose this unjustified measure."
