Belgian Protesters Rally Against Migrant Detentions and Deportations to Morocco

Gathered on Saturday afternoon in front of the Vottem detention center, the demonstrators, who responded in large numbers to the call of the Collective for Resistance to Detention Centers (CRACPE), denounced the almost systematic detention of migrants in Belgium. They particularly criticize the Belgian government for the "mass expulsions" to Morocco.

"Since the signing of an agreement with Morocco in April 2024, increasingly violent expulsions to this country have been multiplying. On June 18, three men and two women were expelled on a commercial flight from Brussels to Casablanca, escorted by 28 police officers. They were tied up and forcibly boarded at the back of the plane before the arrival of the passengers. One of the men had bruises all over his body and a broken incisor upon arrival," denounces France Arets, the CRACPE coordinator, to the Belga agency.

CRACPE expressed its fears about Europe’s migration policy in the face of the rise of the right and the far right. "More than ever, the Belgian government wants to multiply expulsions and closed centers, with a new one expected to open in Jumet (Charleroi). In Italy, the Meloni government has obtained the opening of two 3,000-seat centers in Albania where migrants coming from the Mediterranean will be directly imprisoned. All of this is frightening," develops France Arets.