Cop on trial over Kurdish toddler’s death

A toddler’s clothes were hung before the court in the Belgian city of Mons on Monday in protest against what activists say is a “dehumanising” anti-immigration policy that cost a two-year-old her life. Inside, a police officer went on trial for firing the shot that killed Mawda, one of two dozen Iraqi Kurdish migrants packed into a van in an attempt to reach Britain from France that ended in tragedy in May 2018. But, for refugees’ rights groups supporting her grieving parents, Europe’s “criminalisation” of undocumented immigration is in the dock alongside him. The hearing was suspended shortly after it began while the court sorted out some translation problems. Outside, a handful of protesters cried out: “Justice for Mawda.” During the investigation, the 48-year-old officer, not yet publicly named in court, said he had intended to shoot out a tyre to halt the suspect vehicle during a high-speed chase, but his car swerved violently and the bullet went astray. He is charged with “involuntary homicide”. But lawyers acting for Mawda’s parents argue this should be increased to reflect a deliberate killing. “To take out his weapon, load it and fire it towards a van full of migrants — it’s not just a lack of due care, we should not minimise it like that,” lawyer Selma Benkhelifa said. — AFP