Prosecutor’s office orders trial against police officers over alleged beating

Four police officers accused of involvement in the beating of a suspect in a police station cell in the Gare district should stand trial over the incident, the majority on charges of torture, the public prosecutor’s office has said.

The allegations relate to the arrest of a man in May 2023, on the night of the annual ING Marathon in the capital.

The suspect was brought to a cell inside the city’s main train station, where he was allegedly beaten by three officers, while a fourth was accused of covering up the attack.

The public prosecutor’s office has now recommended that the four officers stand trial before a criminal chamber of the Luxembourg District Court, although the judicial council chamber must take a final decision on whether a trial should go ahead.

The four accused officers were released on bail after spending more than two months in custody, but remain suspended from duty. If convicted, the officers face potential prison sentences of between five and 15 years.

Following the incident, the police unit at the main train station was dissolved in November 2023. Although the station remains open, the Gare unit, which counted around 30 police staff, was allocated to the force’s central department in Verlorenkost, with five to seven officers at a time assigned to different shifts.

(This article was first published by Luxemburger Wort. Translation and editing by John Monaghan)