The father of Sanda Dia, a 20-year-old student from KU Leuven who died during a baptismal ordeal, said on his arrival Friday at the Hasselt Criminal Court, shocked by the latest images of his son, broadcast Thursday by the Flemish channel VTM and the daily Het Laatste Nieuws on its site. Eighteen members of the Reuzegom student circle are prosecuted for manslaughterparticularly.
“It was the first time I saw these pictures“commented Ousmane Dia, who said he was unable to give his opinion before the images were broadcast.”I find it scandalous that it is said that the parents have given their consent.“
The trial once morest the 18 members of the Reuzegom student club will not take place behind closed doors, the Hasselt Criminal Court has decided. A certain number of lawyers had however made this request following the diffusion of images of the file on VTM.
At the start of the hearing on Friday morning, lawyer Joris Van Cauter, who represents one of the defendants, asked the court for a closed session.
Many of his colleagues complained regarding the attitude of the press, but most of them left it to the president of the court to decide on the publicity of the proceedings. The lawyers for Sanda Dia’s relatives did not explicitly request the camera either.
“We agree with Me Van Cauter’s request for the debates to take place in a serene atmosphere“, said the deputy public prosecutor, Bruno Coppin. “But we see no reason at this time to do so behind closed doors.“
“We should have given more thought to the risks associated with baptism“, said JJ, 25, president of the Reuzegom student club at the time of the events. He is appearing alongside 17 other defendants before the Hasselt Criminal Court for the death of Sanda Dia, a 20-year-old student from KU Leuven.
“We should have looked at it more rationally, but baptism was sacred to us. Given the result, of course, it’s ridiculous“, said the former president of the circle. “We had become blind to the risks associated with baptism. The cold, the hangover and the lack of awareness of the weather made the ordeal very difficult mentally and physically, but we never thought it might have such disastrous consequences.“
During this ordeal, theblue“had to swallow a fish and then drink fish sauce. It was the high concentration of salt in the mixture that was fatal to Sanda Dia. The then president believed that the student had suffered from hypothermia According to him, the organizers of the baptism thought of helping him by placing him near the campfire. Eventually, according to the young man, panic took over and it was decided to take him to the hospital.”A. (another circle member, editor’s note) and I thought the problem was solved: he was in the hospital and they were going to be able to help him.“
The prosecution then questioned JJ regarding a letter addressed to Sanda Dia’s family, which however was never sent. According to the former president of the circle, it was the lack of cohesion within it that prevented the sending of this letter. “I wrote a first version with my parents, but there was a disagreement between the members on the contents of the letter. I find it very regrettable that the letter was never sent in the end.“, did he declare.
