Every Year, More Than 200 Churches and Chapels Vandalized

Case information

Incident date: Jan 31, 2020
Country: Belgium
Categories: Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against: Faith
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents: Arson
Vandalism (all)
Vandalism of Chapel
Vandalism of Church
Vandalism of Public Christian Symbol
Place of Incident: Chapel
Church
Public Christian Symbol (outside place of worship)
Bias Indicators: Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
Pattern or Frequency of Attacks
Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police: Yes
Response of Local Authorities: Unknown

On December 21, a nativity scene in Saive was set on fire. On December 28, Watermael's Christmas crib was ablaze on the Eugène Keym square. This incident has been identified by the police as a ‘criminal act’.

https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/societe/plus-de-200-eglises-et-chapelles-font-l-objet-de-degradations-chaque-annee-en-belgique-selon-la-police-federale-5e31c328f20d5a6521f583b1