Belgium: Death in detention centre
01 September 2000
A 25-year-old Albanian, Xhevet Ferri, died on 13 October in an isolation cell in the Steenokerzeel Detention Centre 127-bis near Zaventem airport (Brussels) after an attempted escape. He was arrested without documents in a lorry in Ostend on 5 October, and was due to be expelled on 20 October. Ministry of the Interior statements said that nine detainees staged an escape attempt on the night of 12-13 October, four of whom succeeded. Ferri injured himself seriously in a fall, apparently from a five-metre high perimeter wall. The Ministry claimed that there were no outward signs of injuries, that he was kept under regular observation by personnel at the centre, and that first aid was administered, and an ambulance called, as soon as it became apparent that he was ill.
Allegations of mistreatment arose after media inquiries and a visit to the centre by members of parliament on 13 October. Some escapees alerted guards when they realised that Ferri was seriously injured. In spite of his groaning and a warning from a guard that it was dangerous to move Ferri as this might aggravate his injuries, police who were called in to recapture the detainees handcuffed Ferri and drove him into the detention centre, without medical examination. He was allegedly dragged by his feet from the entrance to the centre into an isolation cell, which he shared with a fellow escapee who gave the alarm when Ferri's condition deteriorated.
The Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne spoke of a "tragic accident", and awaits the results of a judicial investigation into the case opened by the Brussels public prosecutor's office. Amnesty International (AI) urged the authorities "to pay special heed to the principles established in international human rights instruments regarding the use of force by law enforcement officials" (Article 3, UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, Articles 4 & 5, UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials). AI also stressed the need to verify whether the requirement to provide medical care and treatment whenever necessary (Principle 24, UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Article 6, UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials) had been adhered to.
The Collective de Résistance aux Centres Fermés et aux Expulsions (Collective of Resistance to Detention Centres and Expulsions), based in Brussels, organised a demonstration outside the detention centre on 14 October. It accused "officials of the Belgian state" of "having actively accelerated the death of a man", and the Interior Ministry of protecting them. It also criticised the Belgian government for failing to act decisively on information concerning the presence of extreme right-wing activists in the Zaventem police force. In 1998, the Bureau Central de Renseignement (Central Intelligence Office) informed the internal affairs committee of the Senate of this situation. Zaventem police officers were also involved in Semira Adamu's death (see Statewatch vol 8 no 5) and the marking of numbers on the forearms of seventy-four Roma who were deported to Slovakia.
The judicial investigation into Semira Adamu's death, in September 1998, was closed by the investigating magistrate in February. The public prosecutor's office holds the dossier on the case and will decide on the drawing up of any requests for prosecution. Semira Adamu died of a cerebral embolism caused by asphixiation when she was restrained with a cushion over her face during an attempt to forcibly deport her from Zaventem airport. AI has expressed concern "about the length of time which has elapsed without anyone being brought to justice".
Amnesty International "The death of Xhevdet Ferri", October 2000; Amnesty International "The death of Semira Adamu. Justice still awaited", September 2000; Amnesty International "Concerns in Europe January-June 2000" 21.8.00; Collectif de R