Belgian officer on trial for killing toddler Mawda Shawri as her family tried to reach UK

Rights groups say her death is symbolic of the injustices migrants face

The mother of Mawda Shawri shows a picture of her daughter (right) at a press conference. AFP

A police officer who shot dead a two-year-old toddler who was travelling in a van of suspected migrant smugglers is on trial in Belgium.

The officer, who has not been named, is on trial for firing the shot that killed Mawda Shawri, one of two dozen Iraqi Kurdish migrants packed into the van as it tried to get to the UK.

Refugee rights groups supporting her grieving parents say they want Europe's criminalisation of undocumented immigration to be on trial as well.

Outside the court in Mons, toddlers’ clothes were hung up in protest against what activists called the dehumanising anti-immigration policy that cost Mawda her life. A handful of protesters called for "Justice for Mawda".

The police officer appeared in court with the driver of the van and the alleged people smuggler, both Iraqi Kurds.

In May 2018, police wanted to check on a van making its way through Belgium and a chase began when the driver tried to evade them.

During the high-speed pursuit, police shot at the van and Mawda died, crouched with her parents behind the driver.

Her death has become a symbol of injustice towards migrants and refugees fleeing their homelands to seek a better life in Europe.

Belgian authorities said a shot was fired to stop the car and there was no intention to hit the people inside.

The officer, 48, said he had intended to shoot out a tyre to halt the suspect vehicle. He is charged with involuntary homicide.

Lawyers acting for Mawda's parents say the charge should be increased to reflect a deliberate killing.

"To take out his weapon, load it and fire it towards a van full of migrants – it's not just a lack of due care, we should not minimise it like that," said lawyer Selma Benkhelifa.

Among those supporting the Justice for Mawda cause on social media are musicians Peter Gabriel and Roger Waters, and British film director Ken Loach.

“These are people who are fleeing terror, frightened for their lives, fleeing across Europe, the most exploited, the most endangered people – the poorest, most vulnerable people we can imagine,” Mr Loach said. Such people should not be shot at, he said.

The officer, with eight years’ experience, said he felt "wiped out" after the death.

“It’s a horror” to be responsible for the death of a child, his lawyer Laurent Kennes said.

"He feels that everything has fallen on him, that he has to carry the errors of the state prosecutors, of migration policy."