On 07 June 2020, 10.000 people gathered in a Black Lives Matter protest in Brussels, Belgium. In addition to the remembrance of George Floyd, the manifestation was centred around the testimonies of family and friends of victims of high-profile racism and police brutality cases in Belgium. The testimonies around the deaths of Mehdi Bouda and Lamine Bangoura (among others) were charged with a raw emotion that was palpable. There were also testimonies about racism against black people in the education system, the housing market and in sports.
The location of the protest - in front of the Palace of Justice on the Place Joseph Poelaert in Brussels - could not have been more symbolic. The megalomanic building - which is still in use today - was commissioned by Leopold II and was funded by the proceeds of the colonial enterprise.
Image 2: ‘Justice for Lamine’ - Lamine Moïse Bangoura died in 2018 after he was forcefully removed by police forces from his rent apartment.
Image 3: Mehdi Bouda died on August 20 2019 after he was hit by a police patrol car near the Ravenstein Gallery in central Brussels.
It is alleged that he and his friends were 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 preliminary investigation has established that the police car was not sounding its sirens - which, in addition to flashing lights, need to be in use for the vehicle to be considered a priority vehicle - and was driving with a speed of 98 km/h.
The court has yet determined whether a bellowing siren or slower speed could have prevented Mehdi's death.
Ayoub Bouda, the elder brother of Mehdi, 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
Images 6 to 9: Protesters are posing in front of the Anglo-Belgian World War I monument in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests in Brussels. The monument became a depository for the cardboard signs that had been carried during the protest.
Image 10 and 11: More than two hours after the manifestation had been officially disbanded, I photographed this lone protester who had staged his own silent protest. By then, unfortunately, in different parts of the city, plundering and violent clashes between police and small groups of protesters were taking place. Minus the mouth mask, I could, in my mind’s eye, picture the man in the 1980s, staging a silent protest somewhere in the DDR or Czechoslovakia.
Mehdi Bouda died on August 20 2019 after he was hit by a police patrol car near the Ravenstein Gallery in central Brussels.