There will be no trial in the death of Jozef Chovanec (38), the Slovakian national who died after an incident in a cell at Charleroi Airport in 2018, after the Charleroi Court Chamber decided on Wednesday that none of the 31 suspects will be prosecuted.
Chovanec died in a Charleroi hospital on 27 February 2018. On the night of 23-24 February, he was brutally tackled by police in a cell at Charleroi Airport. Surveillance footage of the police action in question was later leaked and sparked controversy across the country.
The footage shows one of the officers sitting on top of Chovanec for 15 minutes. At the same time, two other officers are seemingly joking around and one officer even makes an obvious Hitler salute.
Who is responsible?
Over six years later, many questions remain unresolved. At the time, the approach of the Public Prosecutor and the investigating judge was rather passive. While an investigation was launched, the investigating judge decided a reconstruction of the incident was not needed. In 2020, a reconstruction took place after all.
Additionally, the requested autopsy report took a long time. The case is particularly complex because it remains difficult to prove who is responsible for Chovanec's death, with expert reports contradicting each other.
Finally, the doctors' efforts have also been the subject of confusion: the first doctor, who decided that Chovanec was fit to stay in the cell after his arrest, allegedly did so without performing even a superficial examination. He arrived at the airport only three hours after he was summoned.
The police cell after the struggle. Credit: Federal police
Even the emergency doctor who administered an injection reportedly did so without checking his medical file. However, two friends of Chovanec had earlier indicated to the police that the man was suffering from a thyroid disorder. Just one minute after the injection, Chovanec's heart stopped.
In January, the case was brought before the court again. On Wednesday, it was decided that none of the 31 suspects would be prosecuted. They are mainly police officers who were involved in the incident in one way or another. This means it will not come to trial.
"We are very disappointed. This feels very bitter," Ann Van de Steen, the lawyer of Chovanec's family, told VRT. "What did he die of? Our experts believe that suffocation is the cause of death, but the Council Chamber says he beat himself to death. Completely illogical."
The family will appeal the decision.
