Mahmoud Farajalah, a 26-year-old Palestinian living in Brussels, died after taking his life in a detention center near the Zaventem airport, sparking angry protests and a hunger strike among other detainees.

A prominent face on the daily Palestinian solidarity demonstrations outside the Bourse, a major city square, Farajalah was arrested three months ago after one such protest and placed in immigration detention, according to activists.

“He was such an incredible person, the kindest and the most thoughtful person who I ever met in that center.”

Farajalah’s mother had recently died in Gaza, but he had been denied permission to leave the detention facility to mourn her, according four sources with knowledge of the situation, including Anas Hamam, a Moroccan detainee who had met Farajalah in the “127 Bis” detention center but was transferred to another facility a month ago.

How Farajalah’s mother passed remains unclear.

Hamam told The Intercept by phone, “He was such an incredible person, the kindest and the most thoughtful person who I ever met in that center.”

Around eight Palestinians are thought to have been held in Belgium’s detention camps, according to activists. Many were arrested by plainclothes........

© The Intercept