Antwerp

Articles

• FIFA Approves Moroccan Nationality for Belgian-Born Youssef Hamdaoui
  10 April, by Said

  FIFA has just validated the new sports nationality of the young Belgian of Moroccan origin Youssef Hamdaoui. This is at least what can be read on the website of the international football body.
  Born in the city of Antwerp, in the Flemish region of Belgium, Youssef Hamdaoui has therefore chosen to play for the Moroccan national football team after playing for many years with the youth selections of Belgium. In total, the new Lion has played 13 matches with the Belgian team: 5 with the (…)

• Disabled Moroccan Immigrant Faces Homelessness in Belgium After Asylum Rejections
  2 April, by Sylvanus

  Arrived in Belgium where he hoped to change his life, a Moroccan with a disability faces a harsh reality.
  Yassine* left Morocco in 2016 for Belgium, in the hope of building a better life, because "the care of people with disabilities is not, he says, what it should be" in the kingdom. But things are not going as he had hoped. So far, he has not received any valid residence permit in Belgium. "I have already filed several applications, but they have all been rejected," he confided.
  For (…)

• 11-Year-Old Girl Killed in Antwerp Drug-Related Shooting
  11 January 2023, by Sylvanus

  An 11-year-old girl whose uncle is said to be a Moroccan drug trafficker was killed on Monday in Merksem (Antwerp) in a shooting. It would be a settling of scores in the drug trade.
  On Monday, a Moroccan family was targeted. The local police announced that an 11-year-old girl was killed, after shots were fired at a house in the Antwerp district of Merksem, reports Belga. The targets of the assailants were a garage door behind which a living room converted into a living room and kitchen (…)

• 11-Year-Old Girl Killed in Antwerp Drug Gang Shooting, Police Investigate
  11 January 2023, by Prince

  A 11-year-old girl was killed on Monday in Antwerp in a shooting that targeted her home in Merksem. A member of a Moroccan family involved in drug trafficking, Ferdaous was a collateral victim of a settling of scores between drug traffickers.
  "The 11-year-old girl was seriously injured. She was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately she died shortly afterwards," said Willem Migom, spokesperson for the Antwerp police, on Tuesday. Initially, the agents thought the young girl had succumbed (…)

• Antwerp Mayor Blocks Kickboxing Champ’s Gym Opening, Citing Safety Concerns
  31 December 2022, by Sylvanus

  The mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, opposes the opening of the new fitness and boxing gym of kickboxer champion Jamal Ben Saddik. The latter is taking the matter to court.
  Jamal Ben Saddik’s new fitness and boxing gym will not open on January 2 as announced due to the mayor’s veto, reports Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). "The mayor opposed the opening of our Vinci Club fitness and boxing gym. Next week, the court will rule on our opposition to this unjustified measure," said the Belgian (…)

• Mystery Deepens: Dutch Drug Queen Naïma Jillal Missing Since 2019
  17 March 2021, by Ginette

  Since 2019, Naïma Jillal, the drug trafficker nicknamed "Aunt" has been untraceable. The latest elements of the investigation conducted by the Dutch authorities led the police to Belgium, in a warehouse where the baroness’ personal belongings were found, but no trace of her.
  At 52 years old, this Moroccan from Nador living in the Netherlands holds a prominent place within the Dutch mafia. Naïma Jillal is "a key person in the international cocaine trade," according to 7sur7. But she seems (…)

• Investigation Launched After Belgian Bus Driver Stops to Pray Mid-Route
  9 February 2019, by Laila

  The Belgian public transport company De Lijn has opened an investigation after a Muslim driver was photographed praying in his bus in the middle of passengers.
  The far-right party Vlaams Belang seized on this case and decided to take the matter to court. According to this complaint, the driver stopped during the trip between Antwerp and Berchem, removed his De Lijn jacket, placed his prayer mat in the middle of the passenger seats and prayed for about ten minutes. This incident would have (…)

• Antwerp Drug Baron Among Belgium’s Most Wanted Fugitives
  14 October 2019, by Sylvanus

  Rachid Bouazza, a Moroccan Resident Abroad (MRE), is an Antwerp drug baron. He is now on the list of the most wanted criminals in Belgium.
  At 55 years old, he is one of the 20 people whose name is on the list of the most wanted criminals ("Most Wanted") by the "Fast" team of the Federal Police, reports Belga.
  According to the same source, the Antwerp Court of Appeal had sentenced this drug baron from the Belgian port city to 20 years in prison on March 29 last. Six years earlier, he had (…)

• Grenade Attack on Suspected Drug Traffickers’ Home Shocks Belgian Neighborhood
  21 October 2019, by Kamal

  Surveillance camera footage released by the Belgian federal police traces the course of a grenade attack targeting the home of a Moroccan family in the Antwerp region of Belgium.
  The attack, which took place on September 2, would be part of a settling of scores between drug traffickers, and apparently targeted a Moroccan family known in the region for its illicit activities.
  The video shows an individual riding a bicycle, unscrewing the tip of a grenade and pulling the string before (…)

• Antwerp Evicts 13 Social Housing Tenants for Fraud, Including Overseas Property Owner
  26 October 2019, by Sylvanus

  In total, 13 social tenants, including one who owns houses in Morocco, will be evicted from their housing in Antwerp and prosecuted. They have violated the law regarding the rental of social housing.
  No one can indeed claim social housing if they own real estate, even abroad. Many social tenants have trampled on this clause of the law. In this sense, the city of Antwerp has opened 40 files on social tenants, suspected of fraud, reports the private Flemish channel, VTM.
  The examination (…)