Bart De Wever closes gym of well-known kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik before opening (Binnenland)
If the Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) depends, the Vinci Club gym of the famous kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik will not open on January 2. According to the mayor, the club poses too great a threat to public order.
Vinci Club, that’s the name of the fitness and kickboxing club that Jamal Ben Saddik will open on January 2 at the Cruyslei in Deurne. The ‘Beer van Borgerhout’, who is one of the stars of the Glory competition, wants to pass on his knowledge and experience to the youth. Jamal Ben Saddik himself trains at Mike’s Gym of trainer-coach Mike Passenier, who also coaches world-class players such as Badr Hari and Murthel Groenhart.
The opening of the new gym is scheduled for January 2, 2023, but if Mayor Bart De Wever depends, the club will not open for the time being. The mayor has decided to close Vinci Club before the doors are officially opened. According to him, the club would pose too great a risk to the neighborhood. De Wever supports the decision, among other things, on the fireworks attack in the night of December 12 to 13, when unknown heavy fireworks exploded at the club in the Cruyslei. Graffiti was discovered at neighbors with a threatening message to 32-year-old Jamal Ben Saddik: “Kill JBS De Thief”.
The attack on the club appears to be the biggest act of violence and intimidation against Jamal Ben Saddik and his family. Last summer there were several attacks on homes and businesses affiliated with the Ben Saddik family. For example, Ben Saddik’s parental home in the Zegepraalstraat was attacked, shots were fired and a fire was set at the Poke Bowl eatery on the Stenenbrug, and shots were also fired at a handcar wash owned by the family. The attack would be framed in a conflict in the drug environment, in which some brothers of the famous kickboxer became involved.
The series of attacks last summer seemed mainly aimed at Jamal’s brothers, the perpetrators of the attack on the club seem to see mainly Jamal Ben Saddik himself. It was removed two weeks ago after the attack as follows: “I wish the perpetrators wisdom. To stop the bullying. I have no idea where this comes from. I myself wish for mental strength, patience and perseverance to bring the kickboxing club, which I will open for the youth, to a successful conclusion. That is what counts: you never surrender hate and harassment.”
Council of State
Jamal Ben Saddik calls the closing of the club door “unjustified” by the mayor. “We are challenging this unjustified closure with the Council of State, which will make a decision next week,” said Ben Saddik.
At the cabinet of mayor Bart De Wever, they confirm that the mayor has lifted an “administrative closure”. The cabinet does not want to say much more about it for the time being, because the mayor’s measure is being changed by the Council of State.
The closure of the new kickboxing club is the biggest setback for the well-known Antwerp martial artist. Ben Saddik has already predicted against cancer a number of times and has probably also been involved in a number of criminal files in recent years. For example, he is one of the suspects in the large file surrounding the Clan Y. He is also a suspect in the major investigation into the criminal chat application Sky ECC, because he would have been one of the false distributors of the cryptophones.