Belgium: 15 Code Rouge Activists Arrested in Nationwide Raids as Civil Society Condemns Crackdown

Belgian federal police conducted 19 coordinated raids across the country on Wednesday, June 10, arresting 15 activists from the environmental civil disobedience group Code Rouge. The operation, ordered by an investigating judge in Ghent, has drawn widespread condemnation from over 50 civil society organizations who denounce what they describe as a growing “criminalization of social movements” in Belgium, as reported by La Libre Belgique.

The Raids

At approximately 5:00 AM on June 10, police carried out searches across 19 locations spanning Saint-Gilles, Brussels, Anderlecht, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Liège, Yvoir, Hainaut, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Lochristi, and Diest. The operation involved federal judicial police from multiple regions, local police zones, the Foreigners’ Office, and Europol, coordinated by the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office.

Fifteen suspects were arrested and interrogated. Six were presented to the investigating judge on June 11, and two were placed under electronic surveillance pending a court appearance before the Chamber of Council on June 16. Authorities seized computer equipment, phones, and notebooks during the searches.

Legal Basis and Allegations

The investigation stems from two complaints filed by multinational corporations following Code Rouge protest actions in 2025. Cargill, the agro-industrial giant, filed a complaint after activists blocked its Ghent port facility in March 2025, while ArcelorMittal filed a separate complaint following an October 2025 action at its Charleroi steel plant.

The prosecution alleges property damage committed by an organized group, stating that the actions “caused risks of explosion and risks of deadly gas leaks, as well as major material damage,” according to the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office, as detailed by Tchak.

Civil Society Response

The scale and coordination of the raids prompted an immediate and forceful response from Belgian civil society. In a joint statement on June 11, Greenpeace Belgium and the Ligue des Droits Humains (Human Rights League) condemned the operation, saying the searches “were carried out with a disproportionate use of force and without regard for the relatives of these people, including children,” as published by Greenpeace Belgium.

An open letter signed by 56 organizations — including Oxfam, the CNCD-11.11.11, major trade unions FGTB and CSC, and members of the Right to Protest and Climate Coalitions — declared: “We will not accept any further restriction of civic space and we firmly oppose the draft law of the Minister of the Interior.”

Code Rouge itself condemned the operation as “violent repression by the State,” stating: “Instead of prosecuting companies complicit in genocide, ecocide, exploitation and famine, ordinary citizens are being arbitrarily criminalized.”

Political Context and the Quintin Law

The raids come amid an increasingly charged political environment surrounding protest rights in Belgium. Minister of Interior Bernard Quintin (MR) has proposed a controversial draft law that would allow the government to administratively dissolve associations or groups deemed “radical” or a threat to national security without judicial oversight. The Council of State issued a reserved opinion on the draft in January 2026, requiring revisions.

Defense Minister Théo Francken (N-VA) publicly denounced Code Rouge on social media, calling it a “large private militia” that is “learning to communicate without phones, to become unrecognizable, to bypass camera surveillance and cause maximum damage,” linking the group to what he described as “extreme left/Antifa.”

Broader Concerns

The arrests follow a week of heightened tensions in Belgium. Large-scale education sector protests in Brussels on June 4-5 saw police using tear gas and batons against teachers and students, prompting multiple complaints. The Comité P, Belgium’s police oversight body, reported a 9.4% increase in complaints against police in 2025.

The Ligue des Droits Humains has argued that the essential question is “perhaps less whether civil disobedience should be tolerated or sanctioned, than how the law can accompany a society in transformation without suffocating the forms of expression which, historically, have often made it possible to advance rights and freedoms.”

What’s Next

The two activists placed under electronic surveillance are scheduled to appear before the Chamber of Council on June 16. The case is expected to test the boundaries of protest rights and state power in Belgium, with implications for climate activism across Europe. The fate of the Quintin law, which would further empower the executive to dissolve organizations, remains uncertain as civil society groups mobilize against it.

For Code Rouge, the message is defiant. As the group stated in its official response: “We will not let this repression prevent us from fighting for a better future.”