Justice for Mawda Mawda Shawri was only 2 years old when she was shot dead in a van during a police chase in 2018, on her way to a better life. The officer who fired the shot must appear in court on November 23-24. He is on trial for involuntary manslaughter, but we all know that shooting at a van full of people does not happen ‘by accident’. Afterwards, inaccuracies were spread in the communication by the police and the public prosecutor’s office. For example, they initially stated that no firearms were used, or that Mawda fell from the window of the truck and died of a head trauma injury. It all turned out to be false. Whatever the details of the story may be, a two-year-old child died as a result of a police intervention. But this case relates to more than just the individual parties involved. It exposes a number of structural societal problems: Drawing a weapon and shooting at a van full of people is a symptom of the disproportionate police violence that is omnipresent in our society; The fact that the policeman has a chance of getting away with it, tells us a great deal about the impunity which prevails within the police force; The police officer would simply not have shot at a van full of middle-class white people. This violence is thus clearly the result of deep-rooted racism within the police force. Putting an end to racism and police violence is not an abstract wish. We make it tangible by showing in very specific cases that it is unacceptable. By turning clear incidents into precedents. Demanding justice for Mawda is therefore an important step in the fight against structural racism and police violence in Belgium. We call for attention to be drawn to this case, in every possible way, and for the lawyer of Mawda's family to be supported in her plea to have the facts reclassified as voluntary manslaughter. In solidarity with the Shawri family, for justice for Mawda! #Justice4Mawda
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