Comité P, Belgium’s police oversight body, counted 20 complaints tied to an Oct. 9 Brussels protest and six tied to an Oct. 17 demonstration, placing officers’ conduct under scrutiny.
The watchdog gave the figures to Brussels news outlet Bruzz, which reported them Oct. 21. Comité P has not disclosed the nature of the complaints. It had received none concerning a separate student protest on Oct. 12.
Police figures cited by Bruzz put arrests at 110 on Oct. 9 and 150 on Oct. 17. Bruzz also reported property damage during the protests and said five officers were lightly injured.
The Oct. 9 union action opposed federal cuts, while student groups joined amid concern about cuts to French-speaking education, Bruzz reported. The complaints add a question about police conduct to the dispute over public spending that brought demonstrators into the streets.
Pierre-Yves Rosset, director of the youth legal aid group Service Droit des Jeunes, told Bruzz his organization had received accounts alleging that officers struck two minors with batons. Those allegations remain unverified.
Rosset and the Ligue des Droits Humains questioned the frequent use of tear gas, Bruzz reported. Rosset separately raised concerns about containment tactics and whether the police response was proportionate. He said his group condemned looting and violence.
Rosset also cited roughly 30 accounts of possible police violence during similar protests in June, according to Bruzz. Those accounts preceded the October demonstrations and are separate from Comité P’s latest complaint count.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for independent inquiries into allegations of unlawful force at protests in Europe. He urged accountability and remedies for people harmed, while also condemning violence during demonstrations. Comité P said further complaints about the Brussels events could arrive.
