The Council of State allows De Wever to close the gym of Jamal Ben Saddik (Deurne)
Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever may impose a two-month closure on the gym that the famous kickboxer Jamal Ben Saddik wanted to open in Deurne. This has been decided by the Council of State. The administrative measure led to an attack on the building, possibly in the context of violence within the Antwerp drug environment.
Source: BELGA
Several buildings linked to Ben Saddik’s family have become the subject of attacks in recent months. This includes a building in the Cruyslei in Deurne. There Ben Saddik wanted to open fitness and kickboxing club Vinci Club, a kind of gym, at the beginning of January. On December 13, a kind of heavy firecracker was thrown at the building. The entrance door to some apartments that are badly damaged.
Mayor De Wever opposed the opening because public order and safety would be threatened, while Ben Saddik is therefore considered a victim in this case. He proceeded to close for two months, after which a new evaluation would follow.
Ben Saddik went to the Council of State, but has now been proven wrong. The Board finds De Wever’s motivation and notes that public order was indeed disrupted before the opening of the case. At least camera surveillance has not helped with targeted buildings where other attacks have also been committed, it sounds, and permanent police surveillance is not easy. The temporary closure is therefore not disproportionate, according to the Council of State in an initial assessment (after an urgent procedure).