Letter to the Liason Officer for Police Affairs at the Belgian Embassy in Washington D.C

Patrick Stevens
Police Attaché
Belgium Federal Police
Embassy of Belgium
3330 Garfield Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008


Dear Mr. Stevens,

Today I was shocked to read an emailing detailing the terrible treatment of my friend Marianne Maeckelbergh and others at the hands of the Belgian police. Not only was I confounded as to why Marianne, who is a well-respected academic and scholar as well as a gentle human being and dear friend, would ever be targeted by the police; I was appalled at how the Belgian police have responded to the incident, a horror I would feel regardless of the fact that my personal friend has been involved.

In the email I received, I read that:

Having just entered Belgium, some two hours earlier, she [Marianne] witnessed violent arrests on the street. When Marianne began taking pictures, she was arrested. She was taken into police custody where she was violently dragged by her hair, chained to a radiator, hit, kicked, spat upon, called a whore, and threatened with sexual assault by the police. She also witnessed the torture of another prisoner also chained to a radiator.
This did not take place not in a dark corner of the police station but out in the open, directly witnessed by police station authorities, who gave the impression that this was standard practice. Police removed her ID card, USB stick, the camera with the photos on it, as well as 25 euros in cash - to date they have refused to return her property.
Roughly 500 people were arrested, many preemptively, including people involved in the No Border Camp and other protest activities including an alleged attack on a police station. Marianne has now been released but as of Wednesday 6 October, 2010 at least four people are still incarcerated.

This is an unconscionable act of blatant police brutality. Discussing the issue today with others who are familiar with Belgian policing behavior, I am under the impression that this is far from an isolated incident. The Belgian police have a reputation for cruelty. I've read other reports detailing inhumane treatment in Belgian prisons, such as denying food and water to detainees, denying access to toilets, and even direct physical assault. It's alarming that such behavior is permitted.

As Liason Officer for Police Affairs at the Belgian embassy in Washington D.C., I request that you help to expedite the release the remaining four people still incarcerated. I insist that you take measures to see that the police responsible are made to be accountable. The Belgian police system is clearly in need of reforms that will rectify the inhumane treatment of Marianne and ensure that this never happens again. I am calling on my colleagues and friends of Marianne to write to Belgian representatives to request as much. Please do all that you can.

Sincerely,
Daniel Cairns

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Daniel Cairns
B.A. University of Puget Sound: Asian Studies, Chinese
M.A. University of Chicago: Social Science, History
http://chicago.academia.edu/DanielCairns