Aggressive neighbour in Milmort: acquitted on grounds of self-defence after drawing a knife
A resident of Milmort benefited from a self-defence ruling at Liège court after stabbing his noisy neighbour who had violently attacked him in the middle of the night.
Acquitted on grounds of self-defence after a night of violence between neighbours in Milmort
A 48-year-old man living in Milmort, near Herstal, was cleared by the Liège correctional court of charges of assault and battery resulting in incapacity for work, according to DHnet. The facts date back to 4 February 2022 and involved the defendant and his neighbour, whom he had wounded with a knife. The court recognised that he had acted in self-defence.
However, he was sentenced to 50 hours of work for carrying a bladed weapon.
A nocturnal intervention that turns into a nightmare
Shortly before midnight, a new neighbour was hammering with a hammer on a metal garage door. The man in his forties, a resident of the neighbourhood for many years and without a prior record, decided to go to the scene to politely ask him to make less noise.
The reception was hostile. The neighbour — drunk, despite being subject to a probation order forbidding him from consuming alcohol — said to him: "Go home, fool." The man in his forties complied and turned back.
What he had not seen: the neighbour was following him to his home. "He shouted fool at me again, I replied that he should look it up in a dictionary," he told the court.
Struck at the back of the head, trapped between a wall and a flowerpot
Just as he entered his doorway, the man in his forties received a blow to the back of his skull. "I found myself on the ground, face down. I tried to get up, but I got swept away. I was trapped between a flowerpot and the wall."
His neighbour then set upon him: knee on the abdomen, hand on the shoulder, repeated blows. "I asked him to stop. He hit even harder. I felt myself passing out."
It was at this moment that he drew a knife from his pocket. "I opened the blade and I struck so that he would stop." The neighbour briefly released his grip, allowing the man to curl up in the foetal position, before returning to the attack. Three additional knife blows were delivered. "He stopped. I got up because I was free."
Back inside his home, the man in his forties called the police. However, he concealed the knife that had been used — an action that resulted in his conviction for carrying a weapon.
Injuries on both sides, acquittal for one
The noisy neighbour was struck near the lung and spleen, and suffered a broken rib. The defendant for his part had injuries to the back of his head, above his eyebrow, on his back and on his buttock.
The court followed the arguments of Me Nathan Mallants, the defence lawyer, who contended that his client had acted under the compulsion of an unlawfully initiated attack. Self-defence was upheld for the assault and battery charges. The breach of the reasonable time limit to be tried was furthermore taken into account in respect of the knife charge, according to Me Mallants.
Source: DHnet