She is accused of trying to run over an Uber driver because he was Moroccan

The incident occurred on May 25 in Aartselaar, near Antwerp. The Uber driver had come to pick up a passenger when another woman, J.D., allegedly tried to prevent her from getting into his vehicle. The driver then got out to try to calm the situation.

The woman then allegedly took her own car and tried several times to drive into him, according to the driver’s account reported by Het Nieuwsblad. The man says he was actually hit and showed police a video of the car coming toward him. He was declared unfit for work for three days.

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J.D. allegedly then left the scene at high speed. Police found her shortly afterward intoxicated at her home. She explained that the passenger was a friend with whom she had just had an argument and that she did not want to see her leave with the Uber.

But it is another statement attributed to the defendant that places the issue of racism at the center of the trial: she allegedly told police that she was angry because the driver was Moroccan. Belgium has already seen several cases in which the Moroccan origin of victims or public figures was directly targeted.

Three years in prison requested

Prosecutors are charging the woman in her forties with attempted homicide, with a racist motive as an aggravating circumstance. She also has nine convictions before the police court, mainly for driving under the influence. According to the public prosecutor’s office, she suffers from an addiction problem.

A three-year suspended prison sentence with probation was requested, including an obligation to address her alcohol problem.

The defense is seeking an acquittal and presents a very different version. According to the lawyer, J.D. had placed her car behind the Uber to prevent her friend from leaving. Once the friend got out, she allegedly simply wanted to move her vehicle and passed very close to the driver, causing him to fall. She never intended to injure him, let alone kill him.

Her lawyer also disputes the racist motive. He claims that his client never said she was angry because the driver was Moroccan and believes that her remarks were misunderstood by the police. In Antwerp, accusations of remarks directly targeting Moroccan origins have already led to other controversies.

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The court will therefore have to rule both on the intent to kill and on the racist nature cited by the prosecution. The judgment will be handed down on August 27.