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| Europe |
| Belgium Detains Arab Group Leader |
| 2002-11-29 |
| The detained leader of an Arab group was accused Friday of inciting racial riots in Antwerp following the killing of a teacher of Moroccan descent. Dyab Abou Jahjah, head of the Arab European League, will remain in jail over the weekend and face a hearing on Tuesday. The government said Abou Jahjah, 31, had already been under an investigation before the riots, which started last Tuesday. Prosecutors charged Lebanese-born Abou Jahjah with willful resistance, obstruction of traffic and assaulting a police officer. "We have already been investigating Abou Jahjah ... prior to the Nov. 26-27 rioting," the Antwerp prosecutor's office said in a statement. "Now we have a excuse to pick him up." Police vowed to prevent more rioting in a city which has both a sizable North African immigrant community and the country's largest right-wing party base. As part of its "zero-tolerance" policy, police detained about 160 youths of North African descent after a second night of rioting Wednesday, and 20 were still in custody. There were no major skirmishes Thursday. The Arab European League also called for calm in a statement posted on its Web site after Abou Jahjah's arrest. Belgian politicians have increasingly called for action against the league, especially after it recently sent patrols of young men into the streets of Antwerp. It said the patrols would protect Arab youths against police racism. The league has been behind several rallies against war in Iraq, one of which turned violent three weeks ago in Brussels. Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said his government was considering banning the group outright. You might think that the Belgian government has finally figured out it was not just those Americans and Jews that are in danger. We can only hope. |
| Posted by:Steve |