A Color Café festival volunteer was sexually assaulted while sleeping in her tent on Monday, June 27. The festival had ended in the night from Sunday to Monday and the last festival-goers who slept there slowly left the place. Two individuals then burst into the campsite located along the King Baudouin stadium, on the side of the Heysel metro station, and tried to enter several tents.
Julie (assumed name), 22 years old, had to make a last shift to work on the campsite from 12 noon. “It was between 10 and 11 a.m. when I heard two voices in a foreign language approaching my tent.recalls this 22-year-old student. The mosquito net was open as well as the bottom zipper to allow air to pass through. Suddenly, one of the two individuals opens the zipper and sticks his head out to enter my tent. I immediately told him to get out. He replied, in broken French, that he wanted to get to know me. I yelled, stating that my friends were about ten meters away and he then left to join the other individual who was prowling around the tents.
Shocked by this scene, Julie decides to leave, for fear that the two individuals will come back to the charge. “I open the tent, I get up outside. I see them prowling between the tents. I get dressed, put on my shoes and looking around me, I couldn’t see them anymore. I then send a message to Manon (assumed name) another young volunteer that I met during the festival to ask her if she is awake, but I have not received an answer. My gaze then goes to his tent and I see that there was movement. I initially thought she was stretching or getting dressedshe continues There, I have a realization and I go get a friend to see what was happening in Manon’s tent. My friend opens the zipper and then we find the same individual who had broken into my tent, lying in that of my girlfriend. I see Manon completely scared, we yell at the individual to leave, but nothing helps, he remains lying in the tent. Our cries brought the people of the campsite together and I explain the situation to them.”
Under pressure, the individual comes out of the tent and Julie, trembling and in all her states, slaps him and knocks off his cap. “I then go into the tent to reassure Manon. Obviously, the other individual had also entered, but I don’t know why he came out. Manon was the victim of sexual touching“, continues Julie, who is surprised that no member of security was present on Monday morning to secure the premises.
“During this time, my buddies dragged the individual on the ground and it turns out he was in possession of a knife. He threatened them before finally fleeing towards Heysel tube station One of the people who came to Manon’s rescue managed to take their picture as they fled.”
A complaint was lodged the same day at the Bockstael police station of the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone. The prosecution has taken up the case. At the time of writing these lines, the two individuals have still not been arrested.
We tried to contact the organization of Couleur Café to get a reaction, in vain.