Harelbeke (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A 44-year-old Polish man in Harelbeke stabbed another man during a lease dispute on January 29, 2025, but was acquitted after acting in self-defence; lawyer Filip De Reuse represented him.
As VRT News reported, a 44-year-old Polish man has been acquitted after stabbing another Polish man during a fight in Harelbeke, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. During the trial, the defendant said he never intended to kill anyone and acted in self-defence.
The judge took into account the victim’s aggressive behaviour, the injuries sustained by the defendant, and mentioned that the stabbing was sudden and not planned. After reviewing all evidence and witness statements, the court concluded that the act was not premeditated. The defendant was therefore acquitted.
What led to the acquittal of the 44-year-old Polish man in Harelbeke?
The incident happened on January 29, 2025, in an apartment building on Andries Pevernagestraat. The 2 men were arguing over the transfer of a rental lease. The defendant was supposed to leave the apartment and hand the lease to the other man. The discussion grew heated and turned into a confrontation.
“My client had already received death threats from the victim beforehand,”
argued the attorney Filip De Reuse.
On the evening of the altercation, the victim arrived at the apartment. It later emerged that he was under the influence of drugs. According to the defendant, the victim attacked him and cornered him in the kitchen.
The defendant grabbed a knife and swung it. The blade struck the victim just below the heart, causing a serious injury. Emergency services treated the victim, who survived. A medical certificate also showed that the defendant had been beaten during the fight.
In October 2024, in Turnhout, 2 siblings were absolved of any wrongdoing after the stabbing of a security officer by the brothers was determined by a judge to have occurred in an act of self-defence against the security officer who allegedly had forcibly entered the premises of their residence and committed acts of violence towards the 2 siblings.
In a similar incident that occurred in August 2025 in Maasmechelen, a man was charged with stabbing his intoxicated neighbour from behind while arguing about the theft of cannabis from him.
In this matter, the neighbours had been involved in numerous violent interactions, and the legal process for this particular case was not yet complete; it was likely that the man would face imprisonment or have to comply with a court-ordered restriction preventing him from coming into contact with the victim
