Bias-motivated incidents in Belgium

Incidents over time

Every incident

10 incidents, newest first.

October 2026

• Student says police insulted and struck her and classmates over foreign origins

  A minor student says she and about ten classmates were surrounded by police in Liège city centre and called 'dirty Arabs', hit with batons, and told to go back to their country after officers noted their foreign origins.

  Oct 5 · LiègeRacism2 sources

September 2026

• Swastika scrawled on mosque wall in Laeken, Brussels

  A swastika and another scrawl were found on the exterior wall of a mosque in Laeken, Brussels, discovered overnight between Saturday and Sunday around 1 a.m. Officials condemned the act and police opened an investigation.

  Sep 13 · LaekenRacismReligious Discrimination1 source

• Mosque in Schelle, Belgium vandalized with swastikas and hate messages

  Unidentified people drew hate messages and swastikas on the doors and windows of the Tawfieq Mosque in Schelle and dumped dog feces at its entrance before Friday prayers.

  Sep 4 · SchelleReligious Discrimination2 sources

August 2026

• Turkish man shot dead by police in Belgian park after fight

  A Turkish worker living in Belgium was shot and killed by police in a park in Eupen after a confrontation with a group described as Ukrainian.

  Aug 30 · EupenRacism1 source

July 2026

• Shopkeeper killed after intervening in racist, Islamophobic tram attack

  A man shouted racist and Islamophobic insults at a female passenger on tram line 55 in Brussels.

  Jul 23 · BrusselsRacismReligious Discrimination1 source

March 2026

• Explosion at synagogue in Liège, Belgium

  An explosion occurred in front of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, shattering windows and causing material damage, with no injuries reported.

  Mar 9 · LiègeReligious Discrimination18 sources

• Homemade bomb explodes outside synagogue in Liège

  A powerful homemade bomb exploded in front of a synagogue on rue Léon Frédéricq in Liège, damaging the building and nearby homes but injuring no one.

  Mar 9 · LiègeReligious Discrimination6 sources

• Woman killed in her home, allegedly by ex-partner

  A 24-year-old care worker was fatally shot in the head while sleeping in her own home, allegedly by her ex-partner, after she had reportedly filed multiple police complaints against him.

  Mar 1 · SchaarbeekSexism / Gender-Based Violence1 source

February 2026

• Belgian party leader denigrates Jewish ritual circumcision

  Sammy Mahdi, chair of Belgium's CD&V party, said on a Dutch-language news station that mohels are 'butchers by day' who circumcise children on weekends, drawing condemnation as antisemitic.

  Feb 26Religious Discrimination1 source

• Jet2 flight diverted to Brussels after racist abuse and brawl

  A Jet2 flight from Antalya to Manchester was diverted to Brussels after a drunk passenger made racist remarks and a brawl broke out among passengers.

  Feb 12 · BrusselsRacism2 sources

Elsewhere in Europe

• Bulgaria 10
• France 41
• Germany 32
• Greece 19
• Ireland 13
• Italy 68
• Netherlands 12
• North Macedonia 27
• Poland 12
• Spain 117
• United Kingdom 77