Hostage situation in Ghent was hoax, says prosecutor

An apparent hostage-taking situation in Ghent yesterday was invented by the young man who reported it, the Ghent public prosecutor has revealed. The 18-year-old called police yesterday morning reporting that his friend had been taken hostage by four men armed with Kalashnikov rifles in the Dampoort neighbourhood.

Police arrived at the apartment building in large numbers, cordoned off the area and deployed a police helicopter. Two of the supposed hostage-takers were arrested outside the building, and a third detained after the special intervention squad stormed the building. No-one was injured.

The supposed victim then denied having been taken hostage and said there were never any firearms present. “No weapons or drugs were found in the house,” said Annemie Serlippens, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office. “The victim has been thoroughly questioned and maintains there is no question of hostage-taking, threats or weapons. There is no reason whatsoever to take the 18-year-old’s story seriously.”

The three men arrested as hostage-takers are residents of the building. There never was a fourth man. The incident, coinciding with a real hostage incident in Sydney, Australia, attracted international attention, with TV crews from the Dutch NOS, the BBC and Sky News, who were in Belgium to report on the national strike.

The 18-year-old in question has a police record for drugs offences. Investigators are now trying to determine if he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. He now faces charges of making a false statement, an offence that can carry a prison sentence.

photo: Zhou Lei/Xinhua Press/CORBIS