Between 23 and 29 September 2006, youths of mainly immigrant descent

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

ed in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, causing the destruction of several shop windows and the burning of ten cars and part of a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. The immediate cause of the riots was anger at the unexplained

death in custody A death in custody is a death of a person in the custody of the police, other authorities or in prison. In the 21st century, death in custody remains a controversial subject, with the authorities often being accused of abuse, neglect, racism and ...

of a local man of Moroccan origin, Fayçal Chaaban. A court later found 2 prison doctors guilty of assault/battery and failing to aid a person in mortal danger having administered a fatal dose of tranquilizers and gave them a 6-month suspended jail sentence.

Death of Fayçal Chaaban

Fayçal Chaaban, 25, had been involved in

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

activities since he was 13. He had been convicted for stealing in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and had been in prison since 16 September on the suspicion of

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

. He started to serve a 10-month term in the prison of

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, a Brussels municipality, after being caught at the wheel of a vehicle with no driving license and no insurance. Chaaban was found dead in his cell on 24 September. He died after being administered

tranquilizers A tranquilizer is a drug that is designed for the treatment of anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and disturbances of the mind, specifically to reduce states of anxiety and tension. Etymology Tranquilizer, as a term, was first used by F.F. Yonkm ...

in his cell. An

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

on the body failed to throw a light on the exact cause of death. According to police

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

s, the body didn't show any traces of violence. Further tests were needed to determine whether there is a link between the tranquilizers and the death, but prosecutors said the results of toxicology tests would take weeks to come back from the laboratory. Belgian Justice Minister

Laurette Onkelinx Laurette A. J. Onkelinx (born 2 October 1958) is a Belgian politician from the Francophone Socialist Party. She was the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health in the Belgian federal government, i.e., the Di Rupo G ...

visited the deceased man's family shortly after his death.

Riots

The riots began in the Marolles (Marollen) quarter of Brussels and the area near the

Brussels-South Railway Station Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...

on the evening of 23 September 2006. Between 1 and 4 am, ten cars were set on fire, several car and shop windows were smashed, and one shop was set alight. Violence continued each night during the next days. On 26 September, after hearing the news on the death of Fayçal Chaaban, crowds of young persons started throwing stones at passing people and cars, smashing car windows and setting them ablaze, demolishing bus shelters and looting shops. The rioters also threw

molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

s into CHU Saint-Pierre, which caught fire and required fire brigade intervention. During the incident, the rioters managed to steal the keys of the fire engine. Brussels' police arrested 30 rioters on 26 September 45 rioters on 27 September and 53 rioters on 28 September. Police said some of those arrested were carrying material to make

petrol bombs A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...

. At least 242 crime files were opened by the police. Most rioters were identified as

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

youths from North-African origin, who claimed that they are upset by the death of Chaaban. A Belgian official said that the rioting was the worst since youths set fire to 15 vehicles across Belgium in November 2005, in violent riots which authorities said imitated unrest then going on in France. On Belgian

RTBF The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...

radio, Brussels's mayor

Freddy Thielemans Freddy Thielemans (11 September 1944 – 29 January 2022) was a Belgian socialist politician who was the mayor of the City of Brussels from 2001 to 2013, and previously also for a period in 1994. Freddy Thielemans learnt to play rugby with Br ...

thanked the family of the late Fayçal Chaaban for helping to try to calm down the rioters. By 29 September, the situation was said to be calm again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Brussels Riots Brussels riots Protests in Belgium Protests in the European Union Race riots Brussels Riots, 2006 Racism in Belgium Riots and civil disorder in Belgium 2000s in Brussels September 2006 events in Europe

Death of Fayçal Chaaban

Riots

See also

References