Update 18/08/2018:On Sunday Aug 12, 2018 at 10 am, Mr. A was locked up before undergoing a fourth –and this time effective – attempt at expulsion to Algiers on a TUI flight from Charleroi. This was carried out by the Office of shame. We were warned by his co-detainees.
Here is what he told us from Algiers:
“Once again they used 6 belts to tie my feet, legs, hands, arms and torso. I couldn’t move. On the plane, I saw that two plainclothes cops spoke to each passenger individually; I don’t know what they said. I tried to resist, but they hit me to prevent me from speaking. Not one of the passengers reacted. They were certainly under pressure. I’m hurting, I’m sore all over. I cry constantly. I had a life in Belgium ; I used to work hard on worksites.
This confirms anew that the Foreigners Office uses every means available to expell people, using intimidation or lying to passengers. Such methods are more than worrisome. Even though we do not know precisely what the authorities claimed and we would appreciate hearing from these passengers what they were told.
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A man detained in the Caricole closed centre called us under stress. On 5th August at 10 AM he was told that he would be deported on the same
day at 4 PM on a TUI flight from Charleroi to Algiers. He was put immediately in isolation.
It is his third deportation attempt and he was promised a police escort,since he has refused to go on 2 previous deportation attempts. He has
been living in Europe for the past 13 years and does not wish to return to Algeria.
As a member of the “criminals” family as Minister Francken likes to call them, he must, at all costs, be deported from Belgium. Indeed, after a 6
months jail sentence for a minor offence, he was directly transferred to a closed centre by the Immigration Service
A call was made for activists to go to the Charleroi Airport in order to inform passengers travelling on the same flight about his situation.
We have chosen not to mention those calls on our website, since it is watched by the Immigration Service and the State which could mean more
security reactions and block the citizens mobilization.
Several people were present at the airport to inform passengers and we received several messages.
One person wrote: “On board, the plane to Algiers has not yet taken off.Passengers are quite irritated. No way to fly with the man from
Caricole!”
“He was brought back to Caricole. They beat him very hard. Some of the passengers refused to travel with him. A woman screamed very loud and
said that you cannot treat people as animals. The captain demanded that he would leave the plane.”
Back at the centre, another detainee tells us: “the police escort beat him very hard. He is black and blue all over. They insulted his religion
and this is what hurts him the most.”
Extracts from the medical report which describes the police violence:
“On Sunday 5 August 2018, Mr A was transferred from the Caricole Centre to the federal police station and then to the Charleroi airport
police station. During this last transfer, he was attached with belts.His description is reminiscent of a straight jacket for aggressive
patients.
He describes his pains because of the belts which were too tightened. In the police station in Charleroi they also attached his legs. He was
transferred on the plane by 6 federal policemen and his hands attached to his waist and then to the armrests.
He tried to scream to alert passengers about his deportation against his will but policemen then compressed his neck and his ribcage to prevent
him from screaming. They also stuck and squeezed his head between 2 seats.
One of the policemen insulted him: “motherfucker” and said his coran should be thrown to the bin. Another policeman with blue eyes and an
orange T-shirt, which he identifies as the head of the group, treated him of “maggot” and of “shitface”.
The activists work gives results! On this flight, about 10 passengers were able to stop this deportation. This was possible because they knew
about the presence of this man BEFORE getting on board.
Indeed, to avoid any rebellion or compassion on part of passengers, the “deported person” is forced to get on board before everyone else. The
police escort is dressed in civilian clothes to avoid attracting attention. They sit at the rear of the plane, sometimes behind a curtain. The boarding of passengers is done only through the front door,so that they do not see the “deportee” on baord. At arrival, the police escort is the last one to leave the plane with the detainee. Nobody knows. It’s in the bag… or almost!
Almost… since this time, it was without counting on the work by activists before boarding.
We must go on, to inform passengers so that they can react and refuse to sit or put their luggage in the right place, for instance. To go on to
denounce and bypass police plans to keep secrecy.
To go on to stop other deportations.
