White-robed ‘Collectif’ in the dock over ‘free’ transport

2 December 2004

BRUSSELS – Public transport company STIB is taking 16 activists to court for demanding the right to free travel for all passengers as part of a ‘criminal association’.

From 2000 to 2002, the group, which dressed in white, dedicated itself to travelling on Brussels’ transport network, particularly the Metro, without paying a cent.

They distributed flyers calling for “civil disobedience” and published a manifesto, named “Free Access”, in which they said humans were entitled to travel for free, in the same way that humans had a right to freedom from hunger and thirst.

The group, which calls itself the Collectif sans ticket (The Ticketless Collective or CST) was first taken to court on 21 June 2001 for a string of offences. They included breaching public order on the STIB network, putting up illegal posters, damaging STIB property and failing to pay fines or buy tickets.

STIB has in the past obtained restraining orders against CST members and was set to claim in court on Thursday that the 16 individuals charged are part of a “criminal association”.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news