Renamed Brussels street remembers murder victim

A newly-named street in the Brussels district of Haren will today (Wed) be named after Joe Van Holsbeek, the  17-year-old teenager stabbed to death in broad daylight in Brussels' Central Station in April 2006 when he refused to give up his MP3 player. The killers were caught on surveillance cameras escaping through the streets towards the Grand Place. At first they were described as of North African appearance. They later turned out to be two Polish youths, who were tracked down to their homeland where they had escaped, and extradited back to Belgium, where they stood trial. One was sentenced to 20 years while the other, a minor at the time, was detained in a youth facility.

The street, named Joe Van Holsbeeckpassage on the suggestion of a local residents' committee, crosses the Moestuinenstraat, and will be inaugurated by Brussels-City mayor Freddy Thielemans. The senselessness of Joe's death struck a chord among the residents of Brussels, thousands of whom took part in a silent march in his memory shortly after the incident (photo).

“In remembering Joe Van Holsbeeck, we also want to remind the world that this city will not stand for violence,” Thielemans said in a statement announcing the event. “We stress that we will never forget what happened in Central Station in 2006.”