An investigation has been launched against three civilians who laid a wreath in memory of Jews rescued from extermination during World War II, alleging that they violated the closure guidelines

• Michelle Barrett and two other activists laying a wreath at the Holocaust memorial in Burmyrbic, Belgium

  Photo: 

  Michelle Barrett

Three people who placed a wreath in a memorial to the Holocaust in Belgium were charged with violating Belgium's emergency rules, which were designed to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.   

The three, including a member of the Bortmirvik City Council, were notified last week that an investigation was underway after a stranger at a local memorial on April 19 commemorating an incident that took place in 1943 during which Belgian Jewish underground members rescued a transport train to the Auschwitz death camp. 

Last Friday, Belgium removed some of the restrictions on traffic in the country and ended the closure. However, gatherings and celebrations remained prohibited, leading to police action against the three residents, all members of Belgium's National Fighters Organization - the Belgrade news agency reported.  

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Councilman Michelle Barrett protested against the police action against him and his active members: "It was not an illegal incident and should not be treated as such," he said. "It was a vital act of respect for the underground fighters, the victims of the Holocaust and their families." 

Barrett added that he and his friends wore masks and kept each other apart. The event was limited to only three people to avoid violating the emergency measures. 

Michael Freilich, a Jewish MP from the New Flemish Alliance Party, also protested against the action taken against the activists and offered to pay any fine or legal expenses imposed on them.

The lives of over a hundred Jews were saved thanks to the underground takeover of the train in Burmirkovic, also known as the "Twenty Transport."