Belgian rioters attacked the king's car in violent unrest in Brussels over the death of a black man in police custody who was arrested for breaking the coronavirus curfew.
Police said more than 500 protesters, some of them holding Black Lives Matter signs, gathered in Belgium's capital on Wednesday following the death of the 23-year-old man who was detained by police on Saturday in the city.
He was publicly identified only with the initials I.B, with some Belgian media reporting his name was Ibrahima Barrie.
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said on Twitter that police have 'arrested more than 100 people,' while a police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP news agency that 'several' arrests had been made.
Pictures from the scene of the riots near the Gare du Nord station showed King Phillipe's car being hit by rocks and other projectiles as it drove through the area.
A police station was also set on fire by rioters throwing Molotov cocktails, with a video showing the building engulfed in flames. Other pictures showed fires had been lit in the streets of the city.
Recognisable by the '1' number plate, local news station HLN reported that the king's car 'suddenly appeared in the vicinity' before the king's security detail took action.
The EPA news agency said that the king was travelling from his workplace in Brussels to the Palace of Laeken, his official residence.
Protesters demanded authorities shed light on the circumstances surrounding the man's death on Saturday night.
The Brussels prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday that it was requesting the appointment of an investigative judge following the man death.
Barrie was arrested after he allegedly tried to run away from police officers checking a group of people gathered in downtown Brussels despite COVID-19 measures restricting social gatherings, the prosecutor's office said.
He was taken to a police station where he fainted and then transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 20:22 local time, the office said.
Speaking at a rally on Wednesday outside the police station, the lawyer for Barrie's family claimed that an initial autopsy showed the man died of a heart attack.
Attorney Alexis Deswaef also accused the police of acting too slowly when Barrie collapsed in their custody.
'It took between five and seven minutes for someone to act,' he said. 'They should have helped him because as long as Ibrahima was deprived of his freedom, the police were responsible for him.'
Initial findings by the toxicologist also said that there was nothing to suggest he had used drugs before his death, HLN reported, but added that he was found with three ecstasy pills on his possession. Official findings are yet to be released.
The prosecutor's office said Belgium's Comite P, an independent body overseeing police services, is investigating and a coroner has been appointed to perform an autopsy as well as toxicology tests.
Belgian media reported that Barrie had started to record the police with his smartphone on Saturday when officers decided to carry out an ID check on him.
The prosecutor's office said it has seized video surveillance images, both from the police station and at the scene of the man's arrest.
His family and lawyer met with the chief prosecutor on Wednesday morning. The prosecutor's office said they were given guarantees that 'all means are and will be implemented to shed light on what happened.'
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden condemned the man's death and subsequent unrest as 'totally unacceptable' and assured the public over the investigation.
'We will follow that up and, if necessary, take the necessary steps to also condemn misconduct by the police,' Ms Verlinden said, as quoted by the Brussels Times.
'But today, there is no reason to do so, and therefore there is certainly no reason for this kind of violence.'
Regions of Belgium that speak French have a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew while in Belgium's Dutch-speaking region, the hours are midnight to 5 a.m.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
