Progressive sections and youth and student groups in Belgium are protesting the verdict given to 18 fraternity members responsible for the death of a 20-year-old engineering student, Sanda Dia, in 2018. On May 26, the Antwerp Court of Appeal indicted the 18 members of Reuzegom, a Flemish fraternity at the Catholic University (KU Leuven), in the death of Sanda Dia. However, anti-racist, progressive sections are outraged at the lenient verdict given to the convicts and have slammed it as ‘class justice.’ The Belgo-Mauritanian student had died during a violent hazing (ragging) incident in 2018 which involved forced alcohol consumption, torture, and harassment.
During the trial, while the court found the accused guilty of negligent homicide, humiliation, and premeditated administration of dangerous substances, it rejected the prosecutor’s demand of 18 to 50 months jail sentences for the convicts. The court only pronounced a moderate sentence for the accused—community service for up to 300 hours, a fine of up to €400 (USD 429.16), and damages of €15,000 (USD 16,093.50) and €8,000 (USD 8,523.80) to Sanda’s father and brother.
Multiple protests have been organized against the verdict and demanding justice for Sanda Dia. Activists from student-youth groups like COMAC and Red Fox and political parties including the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) participated in protests held in Antwerp, Leuven, and Hasselt on June 3, and Ghent and Brussels on June 4.
Reuzegom, founded in 1946, was notorious for incidents of cruelty towards animals, racist attacks on migrants, and violent hazing. Sanda Dia lost his life due to forced consumption of alcohol and other substances and torture over two days in Leuven and Vorselaar. Due to complaints against ragging, KU Leuven authorities had issued a Hazing Charter in 2013 to stop such violent acts but Reuzegom did not sign the charter. Following the death of Sanda Dia in 2018, the group was dissolved due to widespread public outrage.
COMAC issued a statement on June 3 saying that “in this country, it seems that the less fortunate have fewer facilities than the Flemish elite. Community service, a fine, and compensation: this is the verdict against the 18 members of the Reuzegom student circle responsible for Sanda Dia’s death. This trial can be described in two words: class justice.”
Pointing to the preferential treatment given to the Reuzegom members, COMAC commented, “A man from the Antwerp municipality of Mol was sentenced to seven months in prison for stealing a pair of sneakers, two bottles of whisky, and a bottle of cognac, worth 125 euros. In Veurne, one person was sentenced to 12 months in prison for stealing offerings from two churches. A 70-year-old woman was sentenced to one month in prison for stealing apples.”
According to reports, wealthy and influential parents of the accused have allegedly tried to cover up the crime and to this date not a single member of the group has apologized to the family of the victim.
