Europe

More than 100 arrested after protests over a Black man's death in police custody

January 14, 2021. Summarized by summa-bot.

Compression ratio: 52.4%. 1 min read.

More than a hundred people were arrested in Brussels on Wednesday night after violent protests over the death of a man in police custody.

(CNN)More than a hundred people were arrested in Brussels on Wednesday night after violent protests over the death of a man in police custody.

The Brussels prosecutor's office said Wednesday it had opened an investigation into "involuntary manslaughter" after a 23-year-old Black man lost consciousness at a police station shortly after being arrested.

Belgian King Philippe's car was "briefly stuck" nearby, the palace told CNN, and the vehicle was hit by a few projectiles thrown at police officers surrounding the monarch's convoy.

A death in police custody

The death that precipitated Wednesday's protests occurred on Saturday, after police "checked" a group of people who had assembled in spite of coronavirus measures that limit public gatherings, a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

by the lawyer representing his family -- "fled on foot and was taken in for questioning by police," according to the prosecutor's statement.

"When he arrived at the police station, I. B. lost consciousness and the police officers present called the emergency services.

Speaking at a demonstration over his death on Wednesday, the family's lawyer Alexis Deswaef told Belgian television, "I know one thing -- if that was my son, who's white and the same age, that would not have happened. "

He accused protesters of committing acts of "vandalism" and said five police officers were wounded in the unrest.

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