An international right-wing conference in Brussels has been allowed to go ahead on its second day after a ban imposed by the local mayor was overturned.
Belgium's Supreme Administrative Court said in a ruling issued overnight that the ban violates the country's constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
City Mayor Amir Kiir said he wanted to ensure public security.
But Kiir later confirmed that the conference would go ahead, although he said he would remain “vigilant.”
The event is attended by Brexiteer Nigel Farage, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and many other right-wing European politicians.
Legal defense organization ADF, which supported organizers of the Conservative National Conference, said Tuesday's events were a “dark sign for European democracy.”
The Democratic Forces added: “No official should have the authority to close a free and peaceful assembly simply because he does not agree with what is being said.”
Far-right French politician Eric Zemmour, who was banned from entering the venue on Tuesday, told reporters at the site: “Thank God, thanks to the pressure we exerted, and thanks to the scandal in all of Europe, Europe showed that it was.” “It remains the continent of liberal democracy and the rule of law.”
People were prevented from entering the conference a few hours after it began on Tuesday morning, although the matter continued for those inside.
The police closed the entrance to the place and did not allow anyone to enter, although people were allowed to leave.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had said that closing the conference was “unacceptable.”
“Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Stop,” Mr De Croo wrote on X.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described reports of police actions as “deeply disturbing.”
His spokesman said he believes canceling events or preventing attendance and non-attendance of speakers “harms freedom of expression and democracy as a result.”
Farage, from the United Kingdom, who spoke at the event on Tuesday morning, condemned the decision to close it as an attempt to stifle freedom of expression.
Besides Orban, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is scheduled to speak at the event on Wednesday.
About 100 people, including members of a group called the Belgian Anti-Fascist Coordination, protested outside Claridge's headquarters where the conference was held on Tuesday evening. No quarrels or problems were reported.
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