Brussels riots continue after unexplained death of prisoner
27 September 2006
BRUSSELS - Rioters continued expressing their anger on Tuesday evening over the unexplained death of a prisoner in an isolation cell at Brussels' 'Prison de Forest'.
Crowds of young people descended on the streets in the neighbourhood of Marolles in Brussels, ransacking the streets and breaking car windows, shops and bus-stops. The Ministry of Justice was also targeted, and rocks where thrown at riot police as well as pedestrians.
The police had already arrested 45 people before 11 pm on Tuesday. The rioters come from various neighbourhoods and all expressed their anger at the death of the 25-year-old man Fayçal Chaaban.
Chaaban had been placed in isolation for being 'nervous and agitated' and was given mild sedatives. An investigation into the death is underway to see if the death was connected with the sedatives administered on Saturday. There are no signs of violence on the body.
The prisoner, who had been detained since 16 September for theft, had previously been in prison charged with stealing and forgery, reports Le Soir.
An autopsy has been carried out to determine the cause of death as well as the precise composition of the sedatives, but the analysis of the drugs will take several weeks to complete.
The family of the deceased, after receiving a visit from a state official on Monday night, has asked the rioters "to remain calm", reports Le Soir.
The rioters demand better incarceration conditions and more security in Belgium prisons.
Minister of Justice Laurette Onkelinx met with the family of the deceased on Tuesday afternoon to personally convey that the Belgium justice system would do all that was necessary to determine the circumstances of the death.
[Copyright Expatica news 2006]
