Jozef Chovanec, a Slovak who died in a cell at Charleroi airport in 2018 would have resisted his arrest, according to exclusive images from VTM Nieuws.
–
LThe controversy surrounding the muscular police action at Charleroi airport in which Jozef Chovanec, a 38-year-old Slovakian was killed, is great. Not only in our country, but also in Slovakia. Indeed, the Slovak government reacted and said it was “shocked” by the “cruelty” of the Belgian agents involved.
VTM News received further footage of the arrest. Hayat Karim, the lawyer for three police officers suspected of being responsible for the man’s death, declares meanwhile that his clients “have nothing to be ashamed of” and that “nothing shows for the moment that they are responsible ”for death. According to her, the intervention took place “according to the rules”, she told HLN.
–
The footage shows how the man is subdued by four policemen on the tarmac, as he fiercely struggles with himself. Just before that, the man had been thrown from the plane. “I think we were in the tenth or twelfth row,” testifies the passenger who took the shots. “Then all of a sudden a man came in and looked pretty aggressive. He just landed in the first row. And right after him, there were two stewards. They chatted and chatted for 5 to 10 minutes, until this person came back with him and got off the plane ”.
Footage of the forceful police action later in his cell was only released this week by The last news and aroused much indignation. The footage shows how the airport police brutally treat the Slovakian man, while a policewoman gives a Hitler salute. Jozef Chovanec died a few days later.
But lawyer Hayat Karim is resisting accusations that the police intervention was far too muscular. “The case has been under investigation for two years. To date, no element or evidence in the file shows that my three clients (two men and a woman, note) seen on the victim are responsible for the death of this person, ”she said.
According to the lawyer, the intervention took place according to the rules. “Mr. Chovanec was a danger to himself and to others. My clients used violence strictly and proportionately to control the individual, ”Karim argued. According to her, the court did a serious job in this case. “The investigation was very meticulous. Everyone who should have been heard in this matter has been heard. We must stop saying that this matter is not taken seriously ”.
The family of the victim, who has filed a civil suit, wants the investigation to become more extensive. “It should be remembered that the civil party requested several additional investigative acts. If the file had shown bad behavior on the part of my clients, they would certainly have reacted in a different way, ”says the police lawyer.
Master Karim asks that the trial not take place in the media. “The court must be allowed to do its job. To this day, my clients are still agents and are not subject to disciplinary measures, ”she recalls.
–
– .
