2023-12-06 11:00:08
A driver has just been convicted by the Liège Court of Appeal, although he had been acquitted at first instance. The facts date back almost 9 years. That day, as part of a national strike movement, at the initiative of the FGTB and Setca, demonstrators installed a filter barrier in Herstal and distributed leaflets to motorists. A driver becomes impatient, accelerates, overturns and injures two strikers. This Sprimontois was nevertheless acquitted in criminal proceedings.
Convicted on appeal
The FGTB appealed and, in a turnaround, this driver was finally found guilty. The Court found that there was no malicious obstruction of traffic on the part of the demonstrators and that this driver might not have been unaware that he had hit two people. “I am reassured to see that the judiciary has not forgotten that we live in a state of law and that it is normal to be able to express one’s opinions on the public highway in a peaceful manner, which the Court recognized.” believes Maître Xavier Mercier, lawyer for the FGTB.
This court decision comes at a pivotal moment, as the European Court of Human Rights is currently examining the right to demonstrate, following the conviction of 17 activists who blocked the Cheratte bridge in 2015.We are currently in appeal in Strasbourg“, recalls Maître Mercier, “and indeed, this file fits perfectly in this line since for years, there has been a targeted attack once morest all strike movements and union organizations. Concerning trade union freedoms, this decision is obviously fundamental and brings a little balm to the heart“.
However, given the age of the facts, this driver convicted on appeal was not punished.
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