At around 4.30 pm on Monday, Ethan Stilmant, a 15-year-old from Namur, was attacked by four people. According to the father, the reason for the violence was that his son was dating a young girl of Chechen origin. Her family would not have liked that.
The Namur public prosecutor’s office confirms that it was an act of revenge. [Since Monday, he has been in the Sainte-Elisabeth clinic. Fortunately, despite the many blows he suffered, his life is not in danger.
His father, Patrick, says of the attack on his son. “I dropped him off behind Namur station at around 4pm so he could go to his girlfriend. He had an appointment in front of “Le point chaud” at Place de la Station,” he says. But before Ethan’s girlfriend arrived, two other young men showed up. “In fact, they were two men of Chechen origin. They were after Ethan because he was dating a woman from their family clan. And for some families in this community, it’s not a good idea to flirt with someone who has a different nationality. So the two men took his phone and forced him to follow them to the citadel.But as they walked across Louise Marie Park, they were joined by another youth. And on the way, a fourth person came. They went to a secluded place on Avenue Jean 1er in Namur, the street leading up to the citadel, where the four people beat my son. Some held him down, others beat him. Ethan thinks it took at least an hour. In any case, he has bruises all over his body and face.”
The Namur prosecutor’s office has been informed of the facts. “This is a violent attack. The case was investigated for coercion and intentional bodily harm. It is a matter of honour. The people involved knew each other. […]
The attackers then fled. […]
The young man was examined by a doctor several times. “Fortunately, the examinations show no major problems. But we are still waiting for the results from the ophthalmologist and the ENT doctor. We are keeping our fingers crossed that there are no problems.”
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Two people have already been arrested: “I hope the others will also be arrested. I hope the others will be detained because we cannot tolerate a youth being beaten up because a family does not accept one of its members being together with a member of another nationality,” he concluded.