Belgium: a banned rally turns into a clash with the police
According to an initial assessment, three police officers were injured in the clashes and four demonstrators were arrested.
AP - Fran Seco
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The police used water cannons this Thursday late afternoon in Brussels to disperse between 1,500 and 2,000 people gathered in a park for a party despite the ban by the authorities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The event was called “La Boum” on social networks.
And the poster was enticing: Calvin Harris, DJ Snake and dozens of other top artists.
Although the organizers warned that it was an April Fool's Day, some 2,000 people gathered this Thursday at the end of the day at the Bois de la Cambre park in Brussels.
When the crowd was dispersed, the police, deployed by the dozen, on horseback or on foot, in riot gear, were thrown by projectiles, several media noted.
Three police officers were injured and one of them had to be taken to hospital, according to a provisional assessment provided around 8 p.m. by local police.
Four participants were arrested, a police spokesperson told Agence France-Presse.
On Wednesday, the Brussels public prosecutor's office warned that the call launched on social networks to rally this park on April 1 for a party was illegal due to anti-Covid restrictions.
The prosecution deplored the organization of "
a false event
", warning that the participants exposed themselves to legal proceedings, "
given the risks generated by large gatherings
".
He announced the opening of an investigation to identify the organizers of this rally.
New restrictions
"
People need to get some fresh air, but we cannot tolerate such gatherings in the Bois de la Cambre
", reacted on Twitter the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, putting in parallel these excesses with the efforts by caregivers against the virus.
“
Those who do not obey police orders risk arrest and prosecution.
Thank you to the police for the hard work and to the people who have been respecting the rules for over a year,
”added the elected Socialist.
Belgium entered a new phase of stricter restrictions last Saturday, including limited access to non-essential shops and the possibility of gathering outdoors for up to four adults.
Against the backdrop of the rapid spread of the English variant of the coronavirus, schools and universities closed their doors on Monday, anticipating the fifteen days of Easter school holidays by one week.
(
With
AFP)
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