Home Politics Belgium is in chaos. The king’s car has been smashed.
Belgium is in chaos. The king's car has been smashed.

Belgium is in chaos. The king’s car has been smashed.

by YCPress

January 13th local time, more than 500 demonstrators gathered in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, to protest.

As the situation intensified, the demonstrators began to set fire in the city and stoned the special car of King Philip of Belgium.

According to BBC News on the 13th, the protest was caused by the accidental death of a 23-year-old black man named Ibrahima Barreel after being detained by the police on the evening of January 9 for allegedly violating the curfew on epidemic prevention.

Police said that the man lost consciousness when he was sent to the police station that night and died after being taken to the hospital.

The Brussels Times reported that Barrel’s autopsy showed that he died of heart failure and there were no signs of drug use in his body.

Barrel’s family expressed unbelievable about the identification results.

They asked: “Why is a healthy young man suddenly said to have died of a heart attack?” At present, the police and relevant departments are still conducting an in-depth investigation into the death of Barre.

Mother Barrell (right) at the scene of the protest, Photo Source: AFP

Because of the suspicious cause of his death, it is suspected that he may have been violently persecuted by the local police because of his black identity. According to the report, about 500 demonstrators gathered at a station to protest with slogans such as “oppose police violence”.

Videos released by Russia Today and other media showed that after the police arrived, emotions at the scene of the demonstration intensified, and some demonstrators used Molotov cocktails to set fire on nearby buildings and public facilities.

At that time, King Philippe’s special car passed through the place when it returned to the Lacan Palace. His special car was attacked by demonstrators with various stones and other throwing objects.

However, soon after the incident, the king’s guard quickly arrived at the scene. At present, there is no news that the king has been injured.

The Belgian Minister of Justice reported on the evening of the 13th that the fire ignited during the demonstration damaged a local police station, injuring at least four police officers so far, and the police have arrested at least 116 demonstrators.

Witnesses said that one demonstradeer was suspected of being injured in the protest and sent to an ambulance.

According to a BBC report last June, protests caused by the violent death of Freud in the United States also affected Belgium, where many sculptures and buildings considered to be “racist and colonial” were smashed by protesters.