Five of the 475 undocumented migrants who took part in a hunger strike last year have decided to initiate summary proceedings. In this way they want to enforce an agreement that was concluded in July with Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Sammy Mahdi (CD&V).
In May, 475 undocumented migrants went on hunger strike in the Begijnhof Church, at the ULB and the VUB in Brussels, demanding that their stay in Belgium be regularised. The hunger strike ended on July 21, after Mahdi committed to consider certain guidelines. For example, the handling of their request had to be done individually.
According to spokesperson Tarik Chaoui of the Union des Sans-papiers pour la Régularisation and lawyer Marie Doutrepont, it appears that only a hundred files have now been processed at the Immigration Office. “The majority of decisions are negative and violate the commitments Sammy Mahdi has made,” it said.
According to the statement, five hunger strikers have now decided to initiate summary proceedings to enforce the agreement. They receive support from l’Association pour la Défense du Droit des Étrangers, la Coordination et Initiatives pour Réfugiés et Étrangers and la Ligue des Droits Humains. The case will be argued on Wednesday before the president of the court of first instance in Brussels. That morning, an action will also take place on Poelaertplein.
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