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The highest court in Brussels has intervened to protect freedom of speech in an emergency late-night ruling, acting to overturn the ban on the National Conservativism conference.
The conference descended into chaos yesterday after police in Brussels ordered it to be shut down, sparking outrage from speakers and guests alike. While the event continued into the afternoon, the venue was surrounded by police, and speakers and guests outside were denied access.
Nigel Farage described the events yesterday as “monstrous”, while Professor Frank Furedi, an author and free speech campaigner, dubbed it “totalitarian”.
With political heavyweights including Nigel Farage and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman in attendance, the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) had aimed to bring together voices from across Europe to share their views on the continent’s future political outlook.
However, once Farage was on stage to address the gathered crowd, a Brussels district mayor ordered organisers to wrap up the conference within just 15 minutes.
Emir Kir, the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in the Belgian capital, said he had issued an order banning the conference from taking place “to guarantee public safety”.
A legal challenge was filed by conference organisers regarding the authorities’ decision to prohibit the conference.
In the decision the Conseil d’État decided that “Article 26 of the Constitution [of Belgium] grants everyone the right to assemble peacefully.”
While the Mayor has the authority to make police ordinances in case of “serious disturbance of the public peace or other unforeseen events,” in this case there was no sufficient threat of violence to justify this.
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