Is Cannibalism Legal in Belgium

In cases of serial killers or sexually motivated cannibals, the charge is always murder, she says. In Germany, where there is also no criminal offense of cannibalism, a court had to deal with a case in which a man “proposed” to be killed and consumed by a computer expert named Armin Meiwes – Meiwes was convicted of murder. Last year, a German police officer was sentenced to eight and a half years for a similar crime for “murder and disturbing the peace of the dead.” However, because his victim was considered “consenting,” he did not receive the maximum sentence. Surprisingly, this is not the case. But it is very difficult to make the whole “process” completely legal. Link to this article by u/Actually_a_Paladin, our resident lawyer There was a profound gap between the epistemological understanding of the body, the ontologies of the human self and subsequent interpretations of the practices surrounding the body as it evolved from the living to the dead in the Belgian Congo. In a context where social and medical death are defined so differently, terms such as “desecration”, “biopsy”, “fetishism”, “cannibalism”, etc. are meaningless without careful contextualization. Flesh-cutting technologies have been interpreted fantastically and negatively by colonizers and colonizers.

This is not a matter of comparison/contrast, but a problem of multiple parallel narratives about acceptable use and representation of the human body. These multiple stories make it possible to understand the value of such techniques (Congolese or Belgian) beyond their medical attribution. Strange laws also stem from nothing more than the mistakes made by previous legislators. A common source of these errors comes from the different languages of the country. One such example is an oath that interpreters in some asylum procedures must legally read, a jumble of archaic terms and erroneous translations of the French version. The Dutch version states: `Ik zweer getrouwelijk de gezegden te vertolken welke aan personen die verschillende talen spreken, moeten overgezegd worden`, which a cowardly attempt at translation could, at best, result in something like: `I swear faithfully to imitate sayings [sic] which must be said to be exaggerated for people who speak several languages [sic]`. Undoubtedly, a punishment for the interpreters. Other potential cannibals could be accused of violating public decency or preventing a legal funeral, Pegg says. In 1988, performance artist Rick Gibson ate human almonds on the street; He claims to be “the first cannibal in British history to legally eat human flesh in public”.

With an increase in “body food” and consumption of your partner`s placenta, he may not be the last. Luise White delve deep into rumors about dark creatures such as vampires and cannibals in colonial Africa, claiming that such stories “reveal all the chaotic categories and meandering epistemologies that many Africans used to describe the extractions and invasions they lived with.” 3 Similar to vampire stories, cannibal stories can tell us about Africans` experiences and understanding of colonial exploitation. But fantasy myths were not the exclusive domain of Africans; Colonial writing is rich in fables presented as fact, one of the most common tropes being that of the savage African cannibal. Therefore, such rumors cannot be reduced solely to allegories of extraction and exploitation, as colonizers and colonized spread stories about each other`s cannibalism. Stories of cannibalism are associated with certain actions on the body, as well as understandings and misunderstandings associated with those actions. In 1923, after observing the catastrophic failure of colonial programs to train indigenous medical assistants, the medical chief of the Belgian Congo declared: “One should not be too surprised that ignorant students, some of whom are direct descendants of anthropophagous parents, do not have the moral qualities. had to be a good local medical assistant. 1 A few years later, one of the first Aboriginal converts to Protestantism, a man named Nlevmo, reported his conversion to Christianity in the Baptist Missionary Herald. As a young boy, Nlevmo was “given” to pioneer missionary W. Holman Bentley in 1881 when he arrived at Stanley Pool (now Malebo Pool). Nlevmo became an important translator and assistant for Bentley, travelling with him to England and Holland before returning to Bolobo Congo to work for the British Baptist mission.

When his father told him as a young boy that he would live with Bentley, Nlevmo was surprised because it was thought that “white men sometimes ate the Congolese people.” 2 As these two anecdotes show, the imaginary threat of cannibalism often persisted just below the surface on both sides of colonial exchange. Since 2001, the legal status of cannabis in Belgium has been an area of growing interest and political debate. In 2019, the leader of the French Socialist Party, Elio Du Rupo, announced his party`s plan to reintroduce legislation that would legalize cannabis nationwide. [17] The rationale for this decision was based on the idea that legalization would prevent youth from having to deal with a criminal network dominated by “mafia” elements to obtain the substance. [17] This announcement was criticised by an opposition party, the Christian Democrats (cdH), the party`s leader, Catherine Fonck, stating that the cdH “will do everything possible not to include the legalisation of cannabis (except therapeutic) in the agreement of the federal government”. [17] Although Belgium has historically had a strict stance on all drugs, Belgium relaxed its laws on personal possession of cannabis in 2003. Now it is legal in Belgium to possess up to 3g of cannabis. Recent comments suggest stricter guidelines, but will likely primarily affect smoking in public, while possession is still technically legal. Please help me, I tried to look for the relevant laws but found nothing. As far as I know, cannibalism is not illegal per se, but assaulting another person (even if they agree) is illegal.

But are there any laws that treat cannibalism as special? Maybe court cases where a judge has set a precedent? (FYI, I won`t eat anyone, I just want some info) It is illegal to use public places (parks, buildings, public transport, on the street, etc.) Wear clothing that largely or completely obscures a person`s face. People who wear such clothing (e.g. burqa and niqab) risk a fine of up to €137.50 and/or imprisonment of up to 7 days. There are no exceptions for tourists. A major problem with these penalties was that many municipalities simply copied old local bylaws (political bylaws) when drafting their GAS codes. While many legal provisions were simple, such as vandalism, garbage and noise complaints, other copied codes date back to the 19th century. Belgium`s reputation for its strange laws has become a legacy via media websites around the world.