Policing and criminal justice system in Belgium
Recent stories
Family reunification measures tightened
Family reunification regulations have been tightened with preconditions applied before foreign partners are allowed to enter Belgium and the minimum age requirement raised from eighteen to twenty-one.
1 July 2006 (57 words)
New legislation on forced marriages
The cabinet has approved a measure to ban forced marriages and to increase punishment for those found guilty of promoting marriage by force.
1 July 2006 (138 words)
Racist killing sparks outrage against VB
Municipal elections are due to be held in Belgium in October 2006.
16 May 2006 (599 words)
Limits set on foreign students in post-secondary education
A decision by the minister of education of the French-speaking region, to limit to 30 per cent the number of foreign students admitted into certain faculties of post-secondary education, has led to demonstrations by teachers, students and their unions.
1 April 2006 (54 words)
Discipline charges dropped in Adamu case
Disciplinary charges against two of the four police officers charged with the death of Semira Adamu have been dropped and the same is expected for the remaining officers.
10 December 2004 (81 words)
Remembering Semira Adamu
On 25 September 2004, six years after her death, hundreds of anti-racists took part in a memorial in Brussels to Semira Adamu, who was killed using the 'cushion technique' during a deportation.
19 September 2004 (40 words)
Socialist burgomaster allows neo-Nazis to march
Antiracists in Anvers were angry that Patrick Janssens, the socialist burgomaster of Anvers allowed neo-Nazis of the Droite Verte International to hold a demonstration in September 2004 whilst the same man banned anti-racists from holding a celebration 'living together against racism' in June.
17 September 2004 (69 words)
Amnesty International concerned about police violence and other abuses
In its observations on Belgium's human rights record, the Human Rights Committee has expressed dismay about the continuing reports of police brutality, often accompanied by acts of racial discrimination.
2 August 2004 (137 words)
Police find racism in their ranks
A report by the police's own internal investigation service has revealed shocking levels of racism, intimidating behaviour and abuse of power within the country's law enforcement officers.
23 June 2004 (125 words)
Semira Adamu deportation death: four police officers convicted
On 12 December 2003, a Brussels court found four Belgian police officers guilty of assault, battery and negligence in the case of Semira Adamu who died during a forced deportation in 1998.
13 December 2003 (269 words)
Policing in Antwerp
Police officers suspended
24 November 2003 (151 words)
Human rights groups warn of violence and racism in policing
In Amnesty International's latest Annual Report a number of groups voice concern about violence and racism in the Belgian police force.
26 June 2003 (209 words)
Murder of Arab exposes faultlines of Belgian racism
On 27 November 2002, Mohammed Achrak, a 27-year-old Islamic religious affairs teacher of Moroccan origin, was shot dead while visiting his family in the Borgerhout district of Antwerp.
3 April 2003 (2101 words)
Congolese army officers beaten by police
The police have described an incident in which two Congolese army officials were beaten by police officers at the Rogier metro station in Brussels as an 'unfortunate mistake'.
1 August 2002 (109 words)
Semira Adamu: Gendarmes will stand trial
In March, a Brussels court ruled that five gendarmes should stand trial in connection with the death in September 1998, of Semira Adamu, a 20-year-old rejected asylum seeker from Nigeria, within hours of an attempt to deport her forcibly from Brussels-National airport.
1 June 2002 (108 words)
More reports of ill-treatment during forced deportation
AI has documented further cases of ill-treatment during forced deportation and called on Belgium and other European states to re-examine legislation and practice to ensure that forcible deportations are brought in line with recommendations on the protection of human rights during expulsion issued by Council of Europe bodies.
1 June 2002 (336 words)
Crime report focuses on 'immigrant' street crime
Human rights groups have attacked the right-wing tabloid La Dernière Heure for publishing a leaked confidential report compiled by the Brussels court on street crime, namely muggings.
1 January 2002 (110 words)
Deportation police once again accused
Amnesty International (AI) is asking for a full investigation into the alleged ill-treatment during a deportation attempt of Ibrahim Bah, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone.
1 January 2002 (87 words)
Violence after unarmed African shot dead in Brussels
There was violence in the Brussels African quarter of Matonge after a police officer shot dead an unarmed African whom they alleged was a drug dealer.
1 January 2002 (224 words)
Ixelles police accused of beating black psychiatrist
A Belgian Congolese psychiatrist has filed a complaint against Ixelles police, claiming officers beat him when he sought to replace a stolen ID card.
1 January 2001 (67 words)
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