Rights group blasts Belgium for 'abusive policing' after attacks

Human Rights Watch blasted Belgium for what it described as "abusive policing" and "problematic counterterrorism laws" since militant attacks in 2015 and 2016.

An assault on multiple targets in Paris claimed 130 lives in November 2015. In March 2016, three coordinated suicide bombings killed 32 people at Brussels airport. Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group and linked to Belgium-based militants.

In a 56-page report titled "Grounds for Concern: Belgium’s Counterterror Responses to the Paris and Brussels Attacks," HRW accused Belgian authorities of committing violations in their response to the bombings.

The rights group cited abuses including prolonged solitary detention, suspending passports and reviewing suspects’ phone and email records without judicial approval.

Belgium has also criminalised comments that fall short of inciting violence, according to the report.

"Belgium has worked hard this past year to prevent further attacks, but its law and policy responses have been undermined by their overbroad and sometimes abusive nature," said Letta Tayler, senior terrorism researcher at HRW and the report’s author.

She said the US-based organisation shares France and Belgium's concerns about militancy. "But heavy-handed police raids risk alienating communities whose cooperation can help address the threat," she added.

The Belgian government told the rights group in a statement that it "firmly resolved to protect" human rights in its counterterrorism responses, according to HRW. The authorities added that they are investigating cases of alleged abuse by the police as a response to the attacks, saying that such alleged incidents are by no means the result of a “deliberate policy”.

In the report, some people complained of physical and verbal abuse by the police.

Twenty-six suspects or their lawyers interviewed by HRW alleged that police used slurs including “dirty Arab” and stopped and frisked them in a rough manner. There were also 10 claims of excessive force including beatings or slamming them against cars.

Only one suspect was charged with terrorism in a case of mistaken identity.

“We are attacked by the Islamic State, which considers us disbelievers when we have nothing to do with them,” said one suspect who withheld his name and accused police of beating him. “And we are also attacked by the state, which says, ‘You are involved with the Islamic State.’”

After his arrest, he was released without a charge.

"Governments have a responsibility to protect people from attack and to hold those responsible to account," Tayler said. "But disproportionate responses weaken the rule of law, fuel distrust of the authorities in Muslim communities and divide society when it needs to unite against groups like ISIS."

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.