2023-08-22 14:17:38
The Brussels justice of the peace handed down a judgment on Monday which considers that the water and electricity consumption charges for the state building occupied by asylum seekers, rue de la Loi in Brussels, are at paid by the Belgian State and Fedasil, the federal agency for the reception of asylum seekers. On June 29, the Belgian State and Fedasil were already ordered by the Brussels labor court to guarantee decent living conditions for these people. However, they will appeal.
The justice of the peace has shown itself to be intransigent. It states that it is “indisputable that the plaintiffs […] committed an intentional act by occupying the building […] and that it is because of this occupation that they have consumed water and electricity […]. But the Belgian State and Fedasil are inappropriate to plead this fault in order to wish to exonerate themselves from all responsibility, because it must not be forgotten that the Belgian State and Fedasil committed the first fault, namely not have implemented on time their obligations in terms of reception with regard to all applicants for international protection”.
The judge added that if the Belgian State and Fedasil “had paid the penalty payments to which they were condemned [pour leur mauvaise gestion de la crise de l’accueil]the applicants concerned would have had some funds for accommodation”.
He continues: “it is because of these faulty abstentions that the applicants for international protection squatted the building [de l’Etat], in order to have the protection of a roof and walls and not be exposed day and night to the elements. The fault of the victim, caused by the fault of the person responsible, does not give rise to an exemption from liability of the latter.
Towards a call for interested parties
For her part, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration did not fail to react to the Evening. “We will appeal against this judgment. It would be quite undesirable to institutionalize the squatting of buildings. »
According to Nicole De Moor, “we can’t organize a reception center just any old way: a building must have a permit for a residential function, it must meet fire safety standards and it requires staff to work there. “.
1692763711
#Squat #rue #Loi #justice #condemns #Belgian #State #Fedasil #appeal