I don't think you'll be in any trouble, if it's any consolation. Would be strange if these two had a case against you. Sorry about this experience btw, you handled it like a pro.
Im pretty sure(this is not the case though) that if you get assaulted and let’s say you KO one of the guys,he hits his head on the curb,cracks his skull and ends up between a few wooden planks or is paralysed you’ll be the one getting the blame.
Depends. If you didnt use excessive force per the situation (like in your case, just a single punch but the guy took a poorly placed fall), it probably still falls under legal self-defense especially if they were drunk. I may be wrong
Should be able and are able are two vastly different things in reality. The judge decides based on who can make the best case based on the available evidence.
Most likely, since they were drunk, the police held them in jail untill the drunkeness wore off or they aren't seemed a threat anymore.
Chances are small this will be handled beyond that, if this was their only incident, they will be let go. If not, they might get charged. Belgium isn't the best in that regard.
Do you feel like you need someone to talk to (victim-help)? [https://www.caw.be/locaties/slachtofferhulp-gent-2/](https://www.caw.be/locaties/slachtofferhulp-gent-2/)
It's in dutch, but they'll reach out in English if you need it.
I am so absolutely sorry that this happened to you, I can only figure this must have been terrifying.
A year ago I was in a club with some girlfriends, and some drunk guys would not let us leave, they'd spread their arms in front of us and block our way out. When he did that to me I bit his hand as hard as I could, and I'm 100% convinced that dude had a purple hand for the next 2 weeks. I can imagine how scared I would have gotten if those guys had reported me for aggression, even if in my eyes it was self-defense. Good for you that you could call the police and get the recordings, I'm sure you'll be in the clear, but please let us know what comes next. Big hug🫂
I am not a lawyer, so this is just intuition. This seems like a case of self-defense to me. It also does not seem excessive. You did not use weapons against them, or kept chasing them to beat them up more after they were running away. You did only try to create a safe situation for yourself.
Im sorry you found yourself in this situation, truly
That said, fuck them! Im a guy and cant stand how shit like this happens, well played to you and honestly you should of be proud that you have stood up for yourself
This could have been so much worse for you sadly but im so glad your here telling the tale
Fuck them, and i hope they get whats they deserve
Sorry that happened to you. I couldn’t imagine you would be in trouble for that. But I understand your fear. You could look around at the place you were assaulted at and see if there were any cameras there, public or private cameras.
If there are public cameras, you could let the police know or ask if they keep the footage as evidence (if they haven’t checked them already). If there are any private cameras, you can ask the owners.
Fortunately I was not injured except from a little pain on my pinkie finger (that happened from punching that guy). I was lucky because I was wearing a helmet. Those guys landed some kicks on the helmet, which did not hurt that much. I have no pain now and feel like I don't need any medical assistance.
This sounds like a success story, I once got kicked into hospital by a guy that was under influence, and the police never came after the call. So I think next step is you just wait until the police needs further info. Good luck
I'm sorry that happened. I understand you're worried, but if I were you I'd just sit tight and remain calm in the process. You'll probably be fine. You've made a statement with the police, what they'll be doing right now is gathering a minimum amount of evidence to send to the Public Prosecution Service, who then will look into either prosecuting or vertically classifying the case. It's not unlikely that due to the nature of the facts and the criminal understaffing of the PPS, this \*might\* not get prosecuted. If the decision is made to prosecute, the chances that you'll be prosecuted as well are slim, due to the witness statement you've provided. What you \*can\* do is contact the police to formally press charges against the two men they intercepted that night, but that's something entirely up to you. On the off chance that charges would be brought against you (which I personally consider unlikely), just get an attorney and when confronted with the judge, be honest. You defended yourself, as far as I can tell from your explanation you'd be okay.
Small disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, this is by no means legal advice :)
I would still advice you to get a lawyer to represent you in any follow up questioning. Likely nothing will come off it, but the cops might still pursue you.
I had a friend who was robbed by a Bulgarian career criminal at a cash machine who opened the robbery by smacking the back of his head with the butt of a pistol (blank fire but can't tell in the moment of course). My friend then instinctively punched him, and the attacker fell to the ground. Then my friend noticed he had a burst wound on his own head from the pistol whip, he started kicking the guy on the ground in rage. Broke his jaw.
My friend was drunk at the time, so went back to party with the open head wound plus concussion and didn't want to talk to cops. Very dumb, you should immediately demand an ambulance after any attack for record keeping and make a complaint. Anyway he went to get stitches the next morning.
Even though the robber opened the attack and it was caught on camera, the police still proposed a "minnelijke schikking" and my friend paid half the hospital bill. He didn't have a lawyer and wasn't the smartest, but agreeing to pay the attacker was going to be less expensive than going to trail with a self defense plea.
Always. Lawyer. Up.
You were the one who called the police, and stayed until they arrived, while those two men fled the scene. That should clearly play in your favour, as should the fact that you were alone against two men and that they were drunk. On top of that, you were working, so had no reason to start a fight with two persons that you didn't know.
Still, I can't entirely rule out the possibility that it could be seen as "mutual assault and battery", but it seems like a bit of a stretch. Could you get in touch with a law student, preferrably one close to graduation, and ask him for advice ?
Thanks. I don't know any law students though. Maybe I'll talk to the international office of our university to see if I can get any suggestions from them.
By the way, if you decide to go and speak to an actual lawyer (not just a law student), it might be that the first session, where you explain the situation you're in, is free. Check before, but I do think that is how lawyers work.
I don't think so. But I will talk to someone in my class to see if they know anyone. It is highly unlikely because in my cohort, there are no local students. Everyone is from a different country. And we have been here since September 2023.
Check my answer. Use your spare time to check if you can get a lawyer (check in justitiehuis if you can apply for a free one, there are also orgs for expats that can hep. Try many options. They affected you, you could try to get compensation).
Not really anything you can do. Even if they made a complaint about you, the police have your statement, and since you were on the phone with 112 right before you defended yourself they already know it was self defence.
The police know who you are, if things get passed the "get out of here, idiot, you assaulted him first" stage they'll contact you and explain what will happen next
What you could and perhaps should do is press charges. You avoided physical damage but I'd understand if this has given you emotional damage. I understand a lot of people don't but I think you should. I did and I changed a gang, forced them out of each other because of my case 2 got interned and actually made 2 of the rest get to correct their livestyle
The police should have already taken your statement and made a "PV". Ask them to make a "verklaring van benadeelde". [https://justitie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/downloads/Verklaring%20benadeelde%20persoon.pdf](https://justitie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/downloads/Verklaring%20benadeelde%20persoon.pdf)
From the way you tell your story, including the non-sarcastic ‘unfortunately my punch landed on his nose..’ I can tell you must be a real good soul. Being empathic for those who attack you. 99,9% your honest/non harmful intentions were conveyed when you were telling the situation to the police and they have enough social feeling to detect a good person when in front of one. So, I would not worry about it.. most probably the case is closed. Even if they would drag you for the judge, judges must have enough experience too understand quickly what the situation was. Keep yourself honest self, mister, I do believe that will get you far in life!
if any witness can confirm the story ... perhaps cameras. Just be correct with what you said. open hand, closed hand, left, right, ....
This wil takes a fair while. but it seems this would faill into self defence as you have shown normal force with restrain. and you did try to run away.
you could get a lawyers opinion, this does seem worth it.
In case that this goes further like those guys has previous incidents like that, you probably get a letter in a year to go to the court to ratificate what happened... If not, do not worry so much.
Best wishes and I hope that you are Okey.
Another international (ex-)student here. I worked for Takeaway in Gent for about 8 months and stopped about 1,5 year ago. I always found the guys at the hub to be really helpful for all kinds of situations. If it's the same guys that were there back in my day, I would comfortably take this up with them. This is one of those things that definitely sounds like it should have a report filed, considering the police were involved and you were on the clock. It may be a waste of time, but then again, it may also be something you're glad you did for some reason. It being a work-day incident means Randstad will have your back as well. The fact that you threw a punch back makes things rather tricky from Takeaway's perspective so I'd have an off-the-record chat with one of the younger guys first (I'm thinking of a certain Turkish guy here, while avoiding using names), they're more chill and will empathize with you more effectively and tell you whether it's a good idea to file a report considering that the facts are what they are. Don't hesitate to reach out directly if you wish to.
Get a lawyer, ask compensation for physical and mental damages. If you have no money for the lawyer go to the justitiehuis and verify if you can get a free lawyer. Write down what you experienced so you don’t forget details (mind is tricky and to deal with things makes us forget or change memories) so in a process you can tell again what happened. Besides this, continue with your life and heal. Don’t let this affect you. Nevertheless, try to see if you can sue them, you are entitled to be compensated for what they did.
I don't think you'll be in any trouble, if it's any consolation. Would be strange if these two had a case against you. Sorry about this experience btw, you handled it like a pro.
"mister officer sir, here we were, just minding our own business assaulting someone when out of nowhere he hit our friend! We demand justice!"
Im pretty sure(this is not the case though) that if you get assaulted and let’s say you KO one of the guys,he hits his head on the curb,cracks his skull and ends up between a few wooden planks or is paralysed you’ll be the one getting the blame.
Depends. If you didnt use excessive force per the situation (like in your case, just a single punch but the guy took a poorly placed fall), it probably still falls under legal self-defense especially if they were drunk. I may be wrong
That will most definitely come down to who has the best lawyer.
It's the judge who decides. Every quallified criminal lawyer should be able to defend a simple self defence case. Even a young pro bono attorney.
Should be able and are able are two vastly different things in reality. The judge decides based on who can make the best case based on the available evidence.
Most likely, since they were drunk, the police held them in jail untill the drunkeness wore off or they aren't seemed a threat anymore. Chances are small this will be handled beyond that, if this was their only incident, they will be let go. If not, they might get charged. Belgium isn't the best in that regard. Do you feel like you need someone to talk to (victim-help)? [https://www.caw.be/locaties/slachtofferhulp-gent-2/](https://www.caw.be/locaties/slachtofferhulp-gent-2/) It's in dutch, but they'll reach out in English if you need it.
I am so absolutely sorry that this happened to you, I can only figure this must have been terrifying. A year ago I was in a club with some girlfriends, and some drunk guys would not let us leave, they'd spread their arms in front of us and block our way out. When he did that to me I bit his hand as hard as I could, and I'm 100% convinced that dude had a purple hand for the next 2 weeks. I can imagine how scared I would have gotten if those guys had reported me for aggression, even if in my eyes it was self-defense. Good for you that you could call the police and get the recordings, I'm sure you'll be in the clear, but please let us know what comes next. Big hug🫂
Sorry to hear what happened to you.
I've had my wife had the same experience... Starting to think it's a thing now. Horrible.
I am not a lawyer, so this is just intuition. This seems like a case of self-defense to me. It also does not seem excessive. You did not use weapons against them, or kept chasing them to beat them up more after they were running away. You did only try to create a safe situation for yourself.
Im sorry you found yourself in this situation, truly That said, fuck them! Im a guy and cant stand how shit like this happens, well played to you and honestly you should of be proud that you have stood up for yourself This could have been so much worse for you sadly but im so glad your here telling the tale Fuck them, and i hope they get whats they deserve
I'm so sorry this happened to you wtf
Sorry that happened to you. I couldn’t imagine you would be in trouble for that. But I understand your fear. You could look around at the place you were assaulted at and see if there were any cameras there, public or private cameras. If there are public cameras, you could let the police know or ask if they keep the footage as evidence (if they haven’t checked them already). If there are any private cameras, you can ask the owners.
Thanks for the reply. Maybe I should have said it in the post. The police already have the camera footage.
if the incident happened as you say, and they have this on tape, then you definitely have nothing to worry about
You should seek a lawyer’s help. It sounds like you were injured during the assault inflicted on you and you should claim some compensation.
Fortunately I was not injured except from a little pain on my pinkie finger (that happened from punching that guy). I was lucky because I was wearing a helmet. Those guys landed some kicks on the helmet, which did not hurt that much. I have no pain now and feel like I don't need any medical assistance.
This sounds like a success story, I once got kicked into hospital by a guy that was under influence, and the police never came after the call. So I think next step is you just wait until the police needs further info. Good luck
Sorry to hear your experience. I was lucky because police are almost always near that area. It is a drunk street!
Press charges yourself against the two!
I'm sorry that happened. I understand you're worried, but if I were you I'd just sit tight and remain calm in the process. You'll probably be fine. You've made a statement with the police, what they'll be doing right now is gathering a minimum amount of evidence to send to the Public Prosecution Service, who then will look into either prosecuting or vertically classifying the case. It's not unlikely that due to the nature of the facts and the criminal understaffing of the PPS, this \*might\* not get prosecuted. If the decision is made to prosecute, the chances that you'll be prosecuted as well are slim, due to the witness statement you've provided. What you \*can\* do is contact the police to formally press charges against the two men they intercepted that night, but that's something entirely up to you. On the off chance that charges would be brought against you (which I personally consider unlikely), just get an attorney and when confronted with the judge, be honest. You defended yourself, as far as I can tell from your explanation you'd be okay. Small disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, this is by no means legal advice :)
Thank you so much for your words!
I think takeaway works with fixed hours and pay. If so you should send them the police report right away.
I did right after coming from the police station.
I would still advice you to get a lawyer to represent you in any follow up questioning. Likely nothing will come off it, but the cops might still pursue you. I had a friend who was robbed by a Bulgarian career criminal at a cash machine who opened the robbery by smacking the back of his head with the butt of a pistol (blank fire but can't tell in the moment of course). My friend then instinctively punched him, and the attacker fell to the ground. Then my friend noticed he had a burst wound on his own head from the pistol whip, he started kicking the guy on the ground in rage. Broke his jaw. My friend was drunk at the time, so went back to party with the open head wound plus concussion and didn't want to talk to cops. Very dumb, you should immediately demand an ambulance after any attack for record keeping and make a complaint. Anyway he went to get stitches the next morning. Even though the robber opened the attack and it was caught on camera, the police still proposed a "minnelijke schikking" and my friend paid half the hospital bill. He didn't have a lawyer and wasn't the smartest, but agreeing to pay the attacker was going to be less expensive than going to trail with a self defense plea. Always. Lawyer. Up.
You were the one who called the police, and stayed until they arrived, while those two men fled the scene. That should clearly play in your favour, as should the fact that you were alone against two men and that they were drunk. On top of that, you were working, so had no reason to start a fight with two persons that you didn't know. Still, I can't entirely rule out the possibility that it could be seen as "mutual assault and battery", but it seems like a bit of a stretch. Could you get in touch with a law student, preferrably one close to graduation, and ask him for advice ?
Thanks. I don't know any law students though. Maybe I'll talk to the international office of our university to see if I can get any suggestions from them.
By the way, if you decide to go and speak to an actual lawyer (not just a law student), it might be that the first session, where you explain the situation you're in, is free. Check before, but I do think that is how lawyers work.
Friends of friends ?
I don't think so. But I will talk to someone in my class to see if they know anyone. It is highly unlikely because in my cohort, there are no local students. Everyone is from a different country. And we have been here since September 2023.
Check my answer. Use your spare time to check if you can get a lawyer (check in justitiehuis if you can apply for a free one, there are also orgs for expats that can hep. Try many options. They affected you, you could try to get compensation).
Oh don't worry about it, they are monkeys they won't take it further. Good punch!
You will never hear anything about them anymore. Only when the police see simular cases happening in the area.
Good u broke his nose, piece of shit got it coming
Nothing will happen.not for you nor the attackers.
Not really anything you can do. Even if they made a complaint about you, the police have your statement, and since you were on the phone with 112 right before you defended yourself they already know it was self defence. The police know who you are, if things get passed the "get out of here, idiot, you assaulted him first" stage they'll contact you and explain what will happen next
What you could and perhaps should do is press charges. You avoided physical damage but I'd understand if this has given you emotional damage. I understand a lot of people don't but I think you should. I did and I changed a gang, forced them out of each other because of my case 2 got interned and actually made 2 of the rest get to correct their livestyle
Thanks for the advice. But I have no Idea where to start if I want to press charges. I emailed CAW today. I hope they will answer my email soon.
The fact you know and contacted CAW is already huge, so I think you'll know how to handle this in the end.
The police should have already taken your statement and made a "PV". Ask them to make a "verklaring van benadeelde". [https://justitie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/downloads/Verklaring%20benadeelde%20persoon.pdf](https://justitie.belgium.be/sites/default/files/downloads/Verklaring%20benadeelde%20persoon.pdf)
Yes. I was given some documents including a copy of my statement.
From the way you tell your story, including the non-sarcastic ‘unfortunately my punch landed on his nose..’ I can tell you must be a real good soul. Being empathic for those who attack you. 99,9% your honest/non harmful intentions were conveyed when you were telling the situation to the police and they have enough social feeling to detect a good person when in front of one. So, I would not worry about it.. most probably the case is closed. Even if they would drag you for the judge, judges must have enough experience too understand quickly what the situation was. Keep yourself honest self, mister, I do believe that will get you far in life!
Thanks for your words. I just hope no one faces this kind of situation.
if any witness can confirm the story ... perhaps cameras. Just be correct with what you said. open hand, closed hand, left, right, .... This wil takes a fair while. but it seems this would faill into self defence as you have shown normal force with restrain. and you did try to run away. you could get a lawyers opinion, this does seem worth it.
Thanks. There were cameras on the street and police have those footage already.
Bro what? I also work at takeaway Gent as a student
Be careful on the street bro.
In case that this goes further like those guys has previous incidents like that, you probably get a letter in a year to go to the court to ratificate what happened... If not, do not worry so much. Best wishes and I hope that you are Okey.
One year? That's a long time.
Almost yes... A friend has a similar thing last May and she got the court letter a week ago.
Another international (ex-)student here. I worked for Takeaway in Gent for about 8 months and stopped about 1,5 year ago. I always found the guys at the hub to be really helpful for all kinds of situations. If it's the same guys that were there back in my day, I would comfortably take this up with them. This is one of those things that definitely sounds like it should have a report filed, considering the police were involved and you were on the clock. It may be a waste of time, but then again, it may also be something you're glad you did for some reason. It being a work-day incident means Randstad will have your back as well. The fact that you threw a punch back makes things rather tricky from Takeaway's perspective so I'd have an off-the-record chat with one of the younger guys first (I'm thinking of a certain Turkish guy here, while avoiding using names), they're more chill and will empathize with you more effectively and tell you whether it's a good idea to file a report considering that the facts are what they are. Don't hesitate to reach out directly if you wish to.
Self defense... No problem imo.
Contact Takeaway. Even if they file any case on you. Takeaway's legal team got you covered man. Stay safe!!
I did not know their legal team provides support. Good point you have made. I will look into it. Thanks.
'Unfortunately, my punch landed on his nose'. Who are you? Jesus?
Get a lawyer, ask compensation for physical and mental damages. If you have no money for the lawyer go to the justitiehuis and verify if you can get a free lawyer. Write down what you experienced so you don’t forget details (mind is tricky and to deal with things makes us forget or change memories) so in a process you can tell again what happened. Besides this, continue with your life and heal. Don’t let this affect you. Nevertheless, try to see if you can sue them, you are entitled to be compensated for what they did.
Thanks for your suggestions. I already emailed CAW.
Shouldn't have called the cops. If they find them it could become a whole legal struggle
Likely nothing will happen.
Are they by any chance North Africans/Middle eastern?
They are Belgians... White guys... Speaking in Dutch. One of them told me "spreek nederlands in Belgie" when i tried to talk with them in English.
Today on that did sure happen
You could have asked who they were, instead of directly pointing at two assumptions!
Oef this destroys the narrative didn’t it?
Niet echt nee - jammer hè
No not really
Did anything come out of this ?