Scandalous scene in the video

Belgium pro dragged off plane in handcuffs

Stephane Omeonga(Bild: AFP, instagram, krone.at-Grafik)

Belgian professional footballer Stephane Omeonga claims to have been the victim of police violence and racism. In a video on Instagram, the Israel legionnaire from Bnei Sachnin denounces the incident.

What happened? Omeonga explains in his statement: "On December 25, I was the victim of police brutality. During a flight between Rome and Tel Aviv, after boarding and taking my seat, a steward approached me because of an alleged problem with my documents and asked me to leave the plane. Confident that my documents were valid, I calmly asked him what the problem was. The police were called, I was handcuffed and forcibly removed from the plane."

Here is the video:

"They beat me"
But that was not all. According to Omeonga, there was a violent assault by the police: "When I left the plane and was out of sight of witnesses, the police violently threw me to the ground, they beat me and one of them pressed his knee against my head."

He was handcuffed and taken back inside the airport in a police van. Paramedics at the scene reported that he had refused medical treatment, which Omeonga denied. 

(Bild: AFP, instagram, krone.at-Grafik)

"Visible tip of the iceberg"
"That was completely wrong, I asked them to transport me in the ambulance for fear of what the police might do to me. I was then placed in a gray room, without food or water, and left in a state of complete humiliation for several hours."

What's more, a police officer filed a complaint against him. The reason: injuries that he is said to have inflicted on the officer, even though he was wearing handcuffs. 

Omeonga: "As a person and a father, I cannot tolerate any form of discrimination. This arrest is just the visible tip of the iceberg. Many people who look like me can't find work, have no access to housing or can't participate in the sports they love just because they are black."