Campaigners condemn wave of arrests of Palestinian protestors

Following the arrests of six Palestinians in connection with protests in Brussels, activist groups say police are attempting to intimidate the public and quash support for Palestine.

Two of the people arrested are said to have been taken to a closed centre for migrants, Bruzz reports.

“Some of the people who were arrested and taken into custody didn’t even know why they were being detained, they were just on their way home,” said human rights activist Stefi Richani, adding that the lack of justification and documentation for the arrests is troubling.

“Some were released after several hours in custody without receiving a single document.

"The most common reason given is disturbance of public order. This is a very broad concept, subject to interpretation by the police, and is being misused to justify arrests that we believe are political in nature and intended to intimidate."

Richani described it as “a deliberate and racist strategy”.

“The police are targeting people who are particularly vulnerable and who, let's not forget, are fleeing genocide,” said Richani.

Non-profit organisation Ahrar Palestine, a driving force behind the daily Palestine protests taking place at the Bourse in Brussels, said Palestinian activist Hussam Al-Faqawi was arrested on 10 September, after a demonstration.

Al-Faqawi, like the non-profit organisation, has ties to Samidoun, the pro-Palestinian organisation that the federal De Wever government wants to ban for being "too extreme and too radical".

His arrest is the latest in a series that occurred in a short period of time. At the large demonstration on 7 September, Palestinian Fathi Al-Hamas was arrested, as was an unknown pro-Palestinian demonstrator, according to reports on social media.

The Brussels public prosecutor’s office would only confirm that two people were arrested after the large demonstration and were questioned "in the context of a judicial case for intentional assault and battery".

One of them is being prosecuted in the criminal court in an expedited procedure. The second person's provisional detention has been lifted.

There were also arrests earlier this month. Palestinian activist Ayman Zaqout was arrested on 6 September, according to Ahrar Palestine. This followed the arrest on 4 September of Hamouda, an 18-year-old asylum seeker from Gaza, according to the non-profit organisation.

A day earlier, 20-year-old Anas from Gaza was also arrested and is now believed to be in the closed centre in Merksplas, Antwerp province. That they are being transferred to a closed centre indicates that their stay on Belgian territory – possibly after having been granted asylum in another European country – may be illegal.

According to pro-Palestinian organisations, the series of individual arrests is not a coincidence.

“It is clearly a form of intimidation on the part of the police and the government,” said Palestinian Belgian Tarek Al Refai.

“We have seen an acceleration in arrests over the last three months. They mainly happen after demonstrations, because the groups are smaller then. The fact that it mainly concerns Palestinians has to do with the fact that they are the spokespeople and are very visible.”

The police confirmed that officers did check residence permits and, in some cases, forwarded the file to the Immigration Service.

“In recent months, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place on an almost daily basis at the Bourse,” said the Brussels Capital-Ixelles police zone in a written response.

“These have regularly been marred by incidents. Several individuals involved in the incidents and known for a number of offences have been identified. Some were handed over to the Immigration Office because they did not have the right of residence.”

In terms of the images and video circulating social media that depict the arrests, police said they would like to "emphasise that these often represent only a fraction of the intervention and that the images are often taken out of context".

Brussels mayor Philippe Close (PS) addressed the issue during a recent city council meeting, following a question from Richani.

Close said that since October 2023, more than 500 pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place in Brussels, “the vast majority of which without any problems”, but that if there is violence or threats during or after the demonstrations, police will intervene.

“Our role is to find a balance: to protect the right to demonstrate while also protecting the safety and freedom of all other users of public space,” Close said.