A bill that would ban rioters’ right to protest was debated in the Chamber’s Justice Committee on Tuesday, and although the vote was postponed due to opposition, Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne wants to see this law enter into force.
On Tuesday, Van Quickenborne announced that the text would not be voted on that day to allow committee members to discuss it further. He nevertheless expressed his wish to punish more severely rioters, showing the assembly a video of police attacked during a protest against the COVID measures.
Van Quickenborne’s bill for “a more humane, a swifter and a firmer justice” contains articles providing for a ban on protests for “rioters” who have infiltrated demonstrations in the past. This ban could go up to three or even six years in the event of a repeat offence. However, trade unionists and activists fear this new law could also apply to them, undermining the right to protest and go on strike.
The Federal Institute had criticised the bill for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (IFDH) and the High Council of Justice, which expressed concerns regarding the scope of the text, its relevance and the proportionality of the sanctions about the offences committed.
It would allow judges to impose a ban on demonstrating for a series of offences committed during a “protest gathering” – i.e. criminal association, the threat of attack against individuals or property punishable by a criminal sentence, homicide, deliberate assault and battery, arson, certain forms of vandalism, destruction or deterioration of property, and breaches of the law on weapons.
On Monday, the General Labour Federation of Belgium (FGTB) called on the “democratic parties” to withdraw this provision of the bill, as it sees it as an infringement of the right to collective action, saying that “the provisions of the bill are so broadly defined that they pose great risks to the right to collective action in general.”
Moreover, it added that “there are already many possibilities in penal law to deal with the violations [referred to in the bill]”, which is why the provisions it contains are “neither useful nor relevant”.
For his part, Van Quickenborne explained that the bill was not about “restricting the right to demonstrate” but about “protecting it against criminal thugs”. He explained that the law would not apply to strikes. “We must not confuse the two: possible vandalism linked to picketing cannot lead to a judicial ban [on the right to protest],” he assured.
The minister also said that this law would not imply that every participant in a demonstration will be systematically checked, nor will it require the organisers to carry out screening themselves.
However, the minister failed in reassuring the commission members, even within the majority.
For Claire Hugon, from the Green Waloon party (Ecolo, Greens/ALE), the text does not offer all the guarantees against “extensive” use by courts, Le Soir reported.
In the opposition, the Workers’ Party (PTB, GUE/NGL) and Les Engagés (European People’s Party) reiterated their opposition to the law.
For the deputy Nabil Boukili (PTB), this postponement is a “first important victory”. He and his party are now calling for removing these articles from the bill.
“It seems that the government wants to increasingly gag any form of social protest. This is unacceptable, we are not going to let this happen,” said the left-wing deputy.
“The context in Europe is not one of widening civil and political rights, but rather of restriction,” Human Rights League (LDH) President Edgar Szoc told RTL last Thursday, adding that this law is a further blow to the right to demonstrate and freedom of expression.
(Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com)
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