On Tuesday 14 October, as 180,000 people took to the streets of Brussels to protest against Arizona, a wing of the 127bis detention centre began to revolt.
From early in the morning, detainees noticed a heavy police presence around the centre, without being given any reason for it.
Later that evening, detainees discovered bedbugs. Several bedbug infestations had already been the subject of protests in recent months. However, the centre’s management never took appropriate measures. The discovery of this new infestation led to an impressive revolt. Detainees in the adjacent wing, who observed the events from their windows, described a major ‘outburst’: the detainees allegedly ‘smashed everything’, including furniture, televisions and beds, to such an extent that this wing is currently no longer functional.
During the evening, the police entered massively, with more than 20 vans. Then the detainees from the wing in question were all transferred by bus. It seems that some are in solitary confinement, and others are in the detention centre in Bruges.
The next day (15 October), the 127bis refused all visits.
As of today, we have been unable to discover whether anyone was injured. We are awaiting further news.
Two weeks after Mahmoud’s tragic death, the detention centre remains a place of death, violence and suffering. Let us keep our eyes open, stay informed and mobilise in support of the people whom the Belgian state detains, imprisons and abuses in these death centres.
DOWN WITH DETENTION CENTRES
FREEDOM FOR ALL
