Hunger strike: Belgian hanging from cliff for five days

Jeff Roba, a 51-year-old Belgian climber and carpenter, has been on hunger strike since Thursday. He has been hanging from a cliff near the Citadel of Dinant, in the Belgian province of Namur, for five days.

With his hunger strike, he protests against a six-month prison sentence and the mandatory demolition of a cabin he built without a permit in the Freÿr forest since 2016. In June 2018, a local police officer established the building violation. The court of Namur sentenced him to the prison term and the demolition: he has to demolish the cabin before 1 July.

His action follows a long-standing dispute over building violations in a protected natural area. Despite similar previous protests and support from sympathisers, the authorities remain firm in their position: the construction is illegal, and the law must be upheld.

(PP with DC - Source: HLN - Picture: @ Mitchel Nijmann on Unsplash)