Joe Van Holsbeeck

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Joe Van Holsbeeck was a 17-year old Belgian teenager who was murdered on April 12, 2006 at Brussels Central train station. This murder, following the attempted theft of an MP3 player, took place at approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, during rush hour. Although petty theft is not uncommon, and even violent robberies are not unheard of in Belgium, Van Holsbeeck's murder in a crowded train station during the daytime has shocked many Belgians. Two suspects have since been arrested. How a crime viewed as so wanton could take place under such conditions has made this murder into a major public controversy.

1 Murder
2 Investigation
3 Reactions
4 Similar crimes
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Murder

The murder took place around 16:30 hours (4:30 p.m.) on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 in the crowded main hall of Brussels Central railway station. Joe Van Holsbeeck, a 17-year old Belgian high school student and one of his friends were approached by two youths of about the same age. According to reports, the assailants at first asked for directions, but suddenly tried to take off with the victim's MP3 player. When Joe Van Holsbeeck resisted non-violently, he was stabbed five times by one of the two. The youth was then taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a couple of hours later.^[1] Two suspected assailants, later identified to be Polish citizens (but not ethnic Polish), fled the station and were arrested some two weeks later.

[edit] Investigation

The suspects of the murder, made unrecognisable in order to comply with the Belgian juvenile protection law.

As the murder took place during rush hour in one of Brussels' busiest places, a major commuter train station serving the downtown core area, there were hundreds of people present at the station. However, nobody intervened to prevent the crime or to intercept the suspects. Police ultimately interviewed thousands of commuters at Central station over the next day in the hope of obtaining more clues to the identity of the perpetrators.^[2]

Although both suspects (plus, perhaps, the murderer's 24 year-old elder brother) had been recorded on very clear CCTV footage in front on the Central Station. In the event, a week after the murder, on April 19, the Brussels police issued a description and police artist's drawing (identikit) of the two principal suspects as well as some CCTV footage taken by the station's security cameras.^[3]^[4] According to news website HLN.be, this delay was due to the police not wanting to aggravate pre-existing racial tensions or cause a witch hunt against the North African community (to which the suspects were first believed to belong), although this was not confirmed by the state prosecutor's office.^[5]

The quality of the NMBS/SNCB security cameras that taped the murder has also been a source of discussion. According to some investigators, the quality of the images is too poor to be helpful. However, Belgian authorities have contradicted this claim. In addition, CCTV cameras filmed the two suspects at a subway station following the murder. Those pictures are of excellent quality but were not released.^[6] CCTV footage from other sources has also been released. These images are of a higher quality than the previous ones, and police hoped that they would generate a new wave of tips.^[7]

If they are convicted, the suspects could be sentenced to life imprisonment, but this would not necessarily mean they will spend their lives in prison, as criminals in Belgium are eligible for release from prison after serving one-third of their term. As in most western European countries, if they are under 18, the murderers could escape severe punishment. Images and witness reports of the perpetrators of the Van Holsbeeck murder suggested that they are about 17 years old.

One of the presumed perpetrators, a 16 1/2 year-old Polish, illegal immigrant, was arrested (presumably on April 25, 2006 or the day before). He was identified by his high school teachers. The other alleged perpetrator, also from Poland, fled Belgium.^[8] The 17-year old youth, the alleged murderer, was arrested in Suwałki, Poland, on April 27.^[9] According to the VRT, both suspects are of Roma descent, which might explain why they were first thought to be of North African descent. While the Belgian Justice Department promised relatives of Joe that his murderers would be speedily extradited, this has still not happened due to bureaucratic procedures.

[edit] Reactions

The rarity of murder under such conditions, and the continuing lack of arrests has produced a sizable public outcry and reactions from a variety of public figures. Four days after the murder, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt contacted the family of the victim by letter, as did the royal family more than a week later.

An early political reaction came from Fouad Ahidar, a Belgian Parliament deputy of North African ancestry, who called upon the immigrant community to help in the search for the culprits. Family members and friends of the victim have specifically asked that the murder not be used as propaganda by political parties. Many have expressed concerns that the murder would increase support for the right (far right according to opponents) wing Vlaams Belang party.^[10]^[11]

The incident was headline news for several days in most Belgian media. The murder was also mentioned by Cardinal Danneels in his Easter mass.^[12]

Many Belgians have brought flowers to the site of the crime and an online petition was circulated to commemorate Joe by having MSN users choose a flower their screen symbol.^[13] There was also a petition on the Internet in Van Holsbeeck's memory asking for "more security in public places and transports" and to "re-establish a dialog with marginal young delinquents".^[14] A demonstration organised by immigrant organisations for April 19 had very little participation.^[15]

Joe Van Holsbeeck was buried in private on April 20 in a catholic prayer service without Mass. According to the VRT, in order to better accommodate the many attending immigrants, the family opted for a "prayer service instead of a traditional Roman Catholic service".^[16]

A silent non-partisan march through Brussels took place on Sunday April 23 with an estimated 80,000 participants.^[17]^[18]^[19] The Belgian Muslim Executive Council (an official Islamic organisation in Belgium) has refused to join the Union of Brussels Mosque Associations in calling for the perpetrators to turn themselves in. According to a spokesman, "So long as the perpetrators have not been identified, we see little use in making a statement. [...] Just because the perpetrators have an Arab appearance does not mean that they are Muslims. Our role is to support the mourning family. [The council] will be sending a letter of condolences to Joe's parents in the coming days."^[20] According to the VRT website, an Antwerp imam said: "The people who know who the killers are, should not remain silent and reveal their identity".^[21]

[edit] Similar crimes

In 2002, a North African youth aged 13 at the time of the crime was found guilty of murder during the course of a robbery perpetrated by a gang of minors. After originally receiving a warning only, he was sentenced in appeal to 120 hours of community service and a € 150,000 fine (supposed to be paid by his parents), but did not spend time in prison.^[22]^[23] However, the original trial took place some four years after the crime, and following seven months in a juvenile institution.^[24]