On August 20, 2020 Mehdi Bouda was remembered by his friends and family during a vigil at the Ravenstein Gallery. Exactly a year had passed since he was hit by a police patrol car at that very place and died.
A moment of silence was observed and Ayoub Bouda, Mehdi’s older brother, gave an emotional speech in which he reiterated his hope that the truth about the circumstances of his brother’s death will be brought to light by the judiciary .
The preliminary investigation into Mehdi’s death has established that the police car was not sounding its sirens which - in addition to flashing its lights - need to be in use for the vehicle to be considered a priority vehicle. It was moreover driving with a speed of 98 km/h.
Mehdi and his friends were allegedly on the run for a drug search by police on the nearby Mont Des Arts when he was hit by a police car on its way to an intervention elsewhere in the city. No drugs were found on his body.
The court has yet determined whether a bellowing siren or slower speed could have prevented Mehdi's death.
Ayoub Bouda, who is pictured in images 3,4, and 7, had this to say about the police in an interview with news site BRUZZ on 14 April 2020: “What hurts me most is how inhumane we were treated after the accident. No one has come to explain to us what happened or apologise for the accident. On the contrary, we had to hire a lawyer ourselves to gain access to the investigation.”
“…, the police waited 11 hours to notify us of my brother's death. At that time there were already articles appearing in the media about my brother’s death. Meanwhile, the officers behind the wheel are back to work, but we have never heard from either the police or the mayor again. It shouldn't have come this far.”
Above info is sourced from https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/politiewagen-die-mehdi-17-dodelijk-aanreed-had-geen-sirene-op-2020-04-17
Newssite Bruzz also published this moving testimony of Ayoub Bouda, Mehdi’s brother,: https://www.bruzz.be/videoreeks/vrijdag-25-oktober-2019/video-broer-aangereden-mehdi-ik-wacht-nog-altijd-op-antwoorden
There is also a website https://justicepourmehdi.com
