Man who set 3 police vehicles ablaze in Elsene gets 40-month sentence

A Brussels court has handed down a 40-month prison sentence, including one year of effective jail time, to a man convicted of setting fire to three police vehicles in Elsene. The incident, which occurred around 4 a.m. on November 10, 2025, in Collegestraat, saw the destruction of vehicles belonging to the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone.

Despite the suspect's plea for acquittal and denial of the charges, the court found him guilty based on substantial evidence. Inspectors apprehended the man near the scene just two minutes after the burning vehicles were discovered. A search of his person revealed multiple bottles containing gasoline and a highly flammable liquid, with an attached lighter.

Further bolstering the case, the court noted the presence of hydrocarbon traces on the man's shoes. A subsequent search of his residence uncovered documents pertaining to themes of resistance, revolution, and anarchism. However, the court explicitly stated that the man was not prosecuted for his opinions or for terrorism, emphasizing that his conviction stemmed from the act of arson itself, not his ideological leanings.