Brussels police try to challenge judge in police violence case

The Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone is seeking to challenge the presiding judge in a trial concerning possible police violence during a demonstration involving about 150 young people in 2021.

The police zone argues that the presiding judge must be removed from the case, but the public prosecutor’s office considers this request unjustified and civil parties view it as a delaying tactic.

According to lawyer Laurent Kennes, who represents the police zone, the president of the chamber overstepped her bounds by stating that proceedings were under way against the zone for the illegal and arbitrary arrest and detention of young protesters. The president explicitly mentioned the name of the police zone in a closing speech.

The public prosecutor’s office sees no evidence of bias in this, arguing that as it was clear which police zone was involved, it was only natural to use its name publicly.

The lawyers for the civil parties also see no grounds for recusal, calling the request a strategy "to delay or avoid a debate on responsibility in a case involving serious allegations".

Kennes claimed that the magistrate nevertheless "pre-judged" the case by requesting the police zone’s presence in a closing speech in which it did not appear.

The case forms the criminal aspect of an investigation into police action in early 2021 during a gathering of about 150 young people at Place de l'Albertine in Brussels to protest against "class-based justice" and abuse of power by the police.

Strict rules on demonstrations were in force at the time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to tensions between the police and demonstrators. Several young people were arrested and allegedly faced violence and racist and sexist insults at the Etterbeek police barracks.

In March 2025, the Brussels Civil Court ruled against the Belgian state, the police zone and Brussels mayor Philippe Close for the police action during the demonstration. The 11 young people who brought the case were awarded compensation.

The Brussels Court of Appeal will rule on the challenge on 24 March.

The issue of police violence has come to the forefront in Belgium since the 2021 incident currently being litigated.

A march was organised on Sunday in Brussels in recognition of International Day Against Police Violence to demand both justice for the victims and more structural political action, drawing more than 1,000 participants.

Names of victims of police violence were displayed on placards and participants called for, among other things, a ban on police cars in parks, an end to car chases deemed disproportionate, a ban on flash-bangs (or stun grenades) and tasers, and the removal from duty of police officers involved in violence or murders.

While police are permitted in the course of their duties to use force and coercion, this must be within the framework defined by the Police Function Act of 5 August 1992.

Several principles must be respected: legality, necessity (for "a legitimate objective that cannot be achieved otherwise"), proportionality, and prior warning ("unless this would render such use ineffective").

Outside this framework, the boundaries of which are not always easy to define, the use of coercion is no longer considered legitimate. It is at that point that it is considered to be "police violence", which is unlawful.

Accounts of police violence during the March 2021 demonstration and others include subjecting protestors to tear gas and even injuries. Protestors say police were also guilty of racism and racial profiling during interventions.