2023-09-08 05:02:00
The Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, maintained this Thursday in Parliament his version of the incident which took place at his birthday party on the night of August 14-15. Supporting images from his surveillance cameras, he returned to the Justice Committee on the facts which gave rise to a controversy and denounced a “incorrect presentation“and”insinuations“.
It was not until August 23, when the facts were revealed in the press, that the minister learned that guests at his birthday party had urinated once morest a police suit. A behavior that he judges “disgusting, especially when you know why the combi is in front of my house“, namely the protection of the minister due to death threats from drug traffickers. Press articles and television reports suggested that Mr. Van Quickenborne was already aware, during the night of August 14 to 15, of the facts which took place. The person concerned firmly defended himself.”If I had known, do you think I would have denied everything, knowing that everything is on images, that every moment of my life is being observed? Ask the question and answer it“, he said.
He recognized that a gesture on his part might be interpreted in various ways while he was waiting for a taxi with one of his best friends: playing air guitar, as his office put it, or pretending to urinating… but whatever it was, it was far from the wetsuit on the other side. And if he went to the vehicle with said friend, it took only a few seconds to lock it because it remained open. “Can we conclude that I was informed and that I lied? I don’t think so”he added.
For the rest, the file is in the hands of the West Flanders public prosecutor’s office and an investigation is underway, over which Mr. Van Quickeborne has no control, not being a party to the case.
There was no shortage of apologies during the minister’s long presentation: towards the police officers who ensure his protection and in general all those who travel in a combi but also towards the deputies who devote a committee session to such an issue. Mr. Van Quickenborne had to expose part of his private life to prove his claims. “It’s the opposite of the rule of law, I have to prove my innocence, but I will”.
Several deputies did not hide their discomfort in the face of this story and the controversy that surrounded it. “The spectacle of this kind of thing does not strengthen the confidence of citizens”, regretted Gilles Vanden Burre (Ecolo-Groen). But for all that, in the majority, not everyone was willing to pass the towel on as if nothing had happened. “The apology presented is a milestone in restoring trust but it will not be enough, and it will take additional efforts to show that you, as Minister of Justice, have the deepest respect for the police”warned Ahmed Laaouej (PS).
As soon as he learned of the facts, Mr. Van Quickenborne said he called the three people involved to “shout” and invite them to appear in court. The PS hopes that the episode will not go without legal action. “If, in a working-class neighborhood, a young person is caught urinating on a police suit, he will spend a bad quarter of an hour at the police station and will have to be held accountable before the courts”noted Mr. Laaouej.
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