Translated Article - La libre Belgique March 21st 2012 (after Kurt has passed away)

Cops and Mafia: the reasons for a disproportionate sentence?

Kurt De Raedemaeker stepped into a hornet's nest. The Belgian authorities were unable, or (to an extent) unwilling, to take him out.

What trap did Kurt De Raedemaeker fall in? Hard to believe indeed, that the case was -formally- about ordinary - dare we say - smuggling of antiquities. In this case, the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by An Jiang, judge in Tianshui, seems disproportionate, even if one takes into account the value of the antiquities concerned. Last Monday, a Chinese peasant who had nine stolen jewelry and other silver pieces in the Forbidden City (the former imperial palace in Beijing, now a museum) was sentenced to "only" thirteen years in prison.

Scandals have hit the headlines in recent years in Tianshui. It would therefore seem to be possible that Kurt was a victim of a police scam (which would explain the circumstances of his curious "interrogation" in January 2006 - three years after the fact). It is also possible that he was the victim of a local mafia, that he may have -consciously or unconsciously- worked with. It looks like he was "given away" by his dubious business partners, because he had not complied with the terms of the "contract", or because the Mafia had to sacrifice a bargaining chip to escape prosecution themselves?

The judgment from Tianshui, strangely, provided for both a life sentence and deportation of the convicted. The deportation never materialized. This begs the question whether the Belgian foreign minister has done everything in his power to get it. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured us that, in addition to the usual consular assistance, numerous approaches were attempted at the highest level: the Minister Karel De Gucht, Prime Minister Yves Leterme and the Palace intervened with the Chinese authorities.

Sources familiar with the matter, within the Department, are not as categorical. Kurt and his case, in their view, was never really taken seriously. Kurt's personality and the complexity of the case could have deterred the embassy and the Ministry from doing more than they have done.The desire to preserve good relations (commercial) with Beijing and the opportunism of some Belgian diplomats, may have helped seal Kurt's fate.

The strategy followed in this case also needs to be questioned. When we wanted to write about the case, during a visit by Karel De Gucht in China on the eve of the Olympics in 2008, it was recommended by the Ministry not to do so, to avoid compromising the ongoing negotiations. Negotiations that, we were told, were about to deliver results. Kurt was actually transferred shortly afterwards from Tianshui to Beijing, which was -undeniably- progress. 

But the authorities in China did not keep their promises and the unfortunate outcome is known. Presumably, in countries where the rule of law is, at best, embryonic, only appropriate media attention may help to get out of tricky situations. But Kurt De Raedemaeker has clearly been forgotten and he paid with his life.