BELGIUM: Dramatic footage released of Antwerp police killing arrestee (1)

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Jonathan Jacob was a 26 year old inhabitant of Antwerp with psychiatric problems. In January 2010 he died while in police custody after a police unit of 6 officers from the special assistance team (Bijzonder Bijstandsteam, BBT) invaded his cell and beat him up. Before invading the cell, they had thrown a tear-gas grenade inside.

The Belgian TV programme Panorama on the public channel Canvas has shown footage of the beating from inside the police station. The footage was given to the program by the father of the victim, who is now being prosecuted now for releasing the material while court procedures are ongoing.

None of the policemen from the special team have been reprimanded and they are all still working for the police force. One member of the BBT is however being prosecuted in a court case, as is the director of a psychiatric ward who refused to receive the victim. [1]

The programme that originally aired the footage on television can be viewed online here. The video can also be seen on YouTube: Police SWAT force beats naked prisoner to death (18+)

Source
[1] 6 agenten zijn nog in functie, hln.be, 22 February 2013

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