A file picture shows Belgian police officers stationed near the site of a terrorist incident at the Sint-Bernardsesteenweg in Hoboken, Antwerp. (AFP)

A Palestinian man was found dead in a park in the center of Antwerp, Belgium. The body was discovered bound by its hands and feet, and the cause of death remains undetermined.

The body was initially found by a passerby last Wednesday, lying next to an old WWII-era military bunker in the city park. According to the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office, the man had been in the park for at least 24 hours before being discovered.

The authorities took two days to establish that the man, who had no identity papers on him, was a 26-year-old Palestinian refugee who had no residency permit but was seeking asylum in the country. It is worth noting that he had no criminal record.

The autopsy has not provided a definitive conclusion, and investigators are considering various possibilities, including murder or an unusually complex suicide.

“The autopsy did not clarify the cause of death, so all leads remain open,” the Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson, Kristof Aerts, told local media on Friday.

The mysterious case has sparked wild speculation online, with some suggesting that the deceased may have been lynched for an unknown reason. However, authorities have urged against spreading such theories and have called on the public to await the results of the official investigation.

“I understand that there are a lot of wild stories going around on social media... a judicial investigation has started, with the investigating judge, public prosecutor, lab, forensic doctor, and investigators on site,” Aerts told the Brussels Times on Wednesday.

So far, the authorities have not provided any additional updates on the case.