Death at Merksplas (Belgium) closed centre after hunger strike

Published on Getting the voice out

This morning,February 15, 2023, we received several calls from detainees informing us of the death of a person at the Merkplas detention centre. This 40 year old Georgian man had been on hunger strike for several days and had been placed in isolation. He was the father of three children living in France, a country where he had a residence permit. He was passing through Belgium and had been arrested because he did not have his papers on him about twenty days ago.

He was found dead this morning in his cell. Staff reportedly tried to resuscitate him but it was already too late. The fire brigade then intervened. The exact circumstances of the death are still unknown. The death was confirmed to the detainees by the staff of the center.

In the early afternoon, the detainees demonstrated and the police arrived en masse to try to calm down the demonstrations. About 20 detainees were violently taken away by the police.

No information on the support received by the family or the detainees was given
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