2006 Brussels riots
Encyclopedia
Between the 23 and 29 September 2006, youths of mainly immigrant descent rioted in Brussels
, causing the destruction of several shop windows and the burning of ten cars and part of a hospital. The immediate cause of the riots was anger at the unexplained death in custody of a local man of Moroccan
origin, Fayçal Chaaban.
. He started to serve a 10-month term in the prison of Vorst, a Brussels municipality, after being caught at the wheel of a vehicle with no driving license and no insurance.
Chaaban was found dead in his cell on 24 September. He died after having been administered tranquilizers in his cell. An autopsy
on the body failed to throw a light on the exact cause of death. According to police pathologists, the body didn't show any traces of violence. Further tests are needed to determine whether there is a link between the tranquilizers and the death, but prosecutors said the results of toxicology tests would take weeks to come back from the laboratory.
Belgian Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx
visited the deceased man's family shortly after his death.
s began in the Marollen quarter of Brussels and the area near the Brussels-South Railway Station on the evening of 23 September 2006. Between 1 and 4 am, ten cars were set on fire, several car and shop windows were smashed, and one shop was set alight. Violence continued each night during the next days. On 26 September, after hearing the news on the death of Fayçal Chaaban, crowds of young persons started throwing stones at passing people and cars, smashing car windows and setting them ablaze, demolishing bus shelters and looting shops. The rioters also threw molotov cocktail
s into CHU Saint-Pierre, which caught fire and required fire brigade intervention. During the incident, the rioters managed to steal the keys of the fire engine.
Brussels' police arrested 30 rioters on 26 September 45 rioters on 27 September and 53 rioters on 28 September. Police said some of those arrested were carrying material to make petrol bombs. At least 242 crime files were opened by the police.
Most rioters were identified as immigrant youths from North-African origin, who claimed that they are upset by the death of Chaaban. A Belgian official said that the rioting was the worst since youths set fire to 15 vehicles across Belgium in November 2005, in violent riots which authorities said imitated unrest then going on in France.
On Belgian RTBF
radio, Brussels's mayor Freddy Thielemans
thanked the family of the late Fayçal Chaaban for helping to try to calm down the rioters.
By 29 September, the situation was said to be calm again.
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, causing the destruction of several shop windows and the burning of ten cars and part of a hospital. The immediate cause of the riots was anger at the unexplained death in custody of a local man of Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
origin, Fayçal Chaaban.
Death of Fayçal Chaaban
Fayçal Chaaban, 25, had been involved in criminal activities since he was 13. He had been convicted for stealing in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and had been in prison since 16 September on the suspicion of theftTheft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
. He started to serve a 10-month term in the prison of Vorst, a Brussels municipality, after being caught at the wheel of a vehicle with no driving license and no insurance.
Chaaban was found dead in his cell on 24 September. He died after having been administered tranquilizers in his cell. An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
on the body failed to throw a light on the exact cause of death. According to police pathologists, the body didn't show any traces of violence. Further tests are needed to determine whether there is a link between the tranquilizers and the death, but prosecutors said the results of toxicology tests would take weeks to come back from the laboratory.
Belgian Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx
Laurette Onkelinx
Laurette A.J. Onkelinx is a Belgian politician from the Francophone Socialist Party. She is the Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health in the Belgian federal government, i.e., the Van Rompuy I Government, which took office on 30 December 2008.-Biography:Born to Gaston Onkelinx and Germaine...
visited the deceased man's family shortly after his death.
Riots in Brussels
The riotRiot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
s began in the Marollen quarter of Brussels and the area near the Brussels-South Railway Station on the evening of 23 September 2006. Between 1 and 4 am, ten cars were set on fire, several car and shop windows were smashed, and one shop was set alight. Violence continued each night during the next days. On 26 September, after hearing the news on the death of Fayçal Chaaban, crowds of young persons started throwing stones at passing people and cars, smashing car windows and setting them ablaze, demolishing bus shelters and looting shops. The rioters also threw molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s into CHU Saint-Pierre, which caught fire and required fire brigade intervention. During the incident, the rioters managed to steal the keys of the fire engine.
Brussels' police arrested 30 rioters on 26 September 45 rioters on 27 September and 53 rioters on 28 September. Police said some of those arrested were carrying material to make petrol bombs. At least 242 crime files were opened by the police.
Most rioters were identified as immigrant youths from North-African origin, who claimed that they are upset by the death of Chaaban. A Belgian official said that the rioting was the worst since youths set fire to 15 vehicles across Belgium in November 2005, in violent riots which authorities said imitated unrest then going on in France.
On Belgian RTBF
RTBF
Radio Télévision Belge Francophone is the public broadcasting organization of the French Community of Belgium, the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium...
radio, Brussels's mayor Freddy Thielemans
Freddy Thielemans
Freddy Thielemans is a Belgian socialist politician and, since 2001, the current mayor of Brussels. He had previously served as the mayor of Brussels for a period in 1994.-Biography:...
thanked the family of the late Fayçal Chaaban for helping to try to calm down the rioters.
By 29 September, the situation was said to be calm again.
See also
- 2005 civil unrest in France2005 civil unrest in FranceThe 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of riots by mostly Muslim North African youths in Paris and other French cities, involving mainly the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting on 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois...
- 2007 civil unrest in Villiers-le-Bel2007 civil unrest in Villiers-le-BelThe 2007 unrest in the Val-d'Oise department in France began 26 November 2007, following the deaths of two teenagers , whose motorcycle collided with a police vehicle...
- Sectarian violenceSectarian violenceSectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community...