Violent protests and clashes between demonstrators and police erupted in the suburbs of Liège over the weekend after a 31-year-old driver was shot and killed by police on Friday.
The first demonstrations took place on Friday night after the 31-year-old was shot dead by the police while driving a quad bike in the afternoon in Oupeye, near the city of Liège.
The incident led to protests, particularly given the similar police shooting that killed a teenager in France before the summer break and led to demonstrations all over France which then spread to Belgium.
In Ourpeye on Friday, the 31-year-old was stopped by two policemen during a traffic check for alleged reckless driving. Belgian news media reported that the driver refused to comply and ran over one policeman.
The protests spread to the nearby city of Herstal, with damage being done to houses, shops, cars, a school, bus shelters and other street furniture. Fires were lit, and firefighters had to intervene. Molotov cocktails were also used against police on Friday, with police intercepting a car full of these the next night. No injuries have been reported so far.
An investigation which will officially start on Monday has been opened on the driver’s death.
“Nothing at this stage […] allows us to question [the fact that it could be the result of] self-defence,” Anthony Turra, Permanent Secretary CSC Police, which represents police officers, told La Libre.
The two policemen are currently in hospital. While one has broken bones due to being run over, the other is in hospital as he is in a state of shock.
However, according to Serge Fillot, Oupeye’s socialist mayor, the riots were based on “unfounded information spread via social media (in particular that the victim had been shot illegally in the back)”. He added that “a feeling of anti-cop revenge” was coming on top of the emotional reaction.
“Some see [the driver’s death] as an injustice, others draw parallels with what happened in France with the death of Nahel,” the mayor also said.
Misinformation about the incident was also spread online.
For example, a photo of a white vehicle said to be the “police shooter’s car” belongs to someone else, according to Damien Leboutte, prosecutor at the Liège Public Prosecutor’s Office. The same applies to the photo of a policeman that reads “Maxime, 25”, the name and age of the policeman who fired the shot. “[…] Once again, it’s the wrong person,” Leboutte said.
La Libre reports that the prosecutor’s office has been informed of this and is looking into who is behind spreading false information.
The authorities of the two cities remain vigilant for the next nights and have taken precautionary measures. In Oupeye, for example, gatherings of more than four people are forbidden.
(Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com)
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