In front of a Belgian court, he defends himself in Algerian dialect
The newspaper La Libre Belgique reports, this Saturday, January 22, the tragic story of Slimane, an Algerian illegal immigrant, currently in detention for attempted murder. The latter faces the judges of the Brussels Court of Appeal.
He had been sentenced, at first instance, to 7 years in prison for attempted murder and rebellion against the police at the time of his arrest. Which he disputes, adding that he doesn’t remember much. Not even what he was doing in the middle of that fight that landed her in jail. “They humiliated me because I have no papers, they called me a tramp,” he explains.
Justice reminds him, from the outset, that he stabbed a person and that “the victim barely survived, but she has serious consequences”.
” I did not do anything… “
“I didn’t do anything”, murmurs Slimane in Arabic (Algerian). In his twenties, Slimane speaks neither Dutch nor French, explains the Belgian media. He also has the greatest difficulty in understanding the literal Arabic of his translator. The young man says he is more at ease by inviting himself into the Algerian dialect.
The judges want to know how long he has been in Belgium. They also ask him if he has studied, if he has a job and, above all, what led him to violently stab a person.
Via his translator, Slimane explains that he is a “guy without history”, who found himself “in the wrong place, at the wrong time”. He says he arrived in Belgium in October 2018 after leaving his hometown, Oran. “I did good studies. I have a good degree, but I didn’t have a good life there,” he says.
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Asked what type of diploma he has, Slimane evades the question. Continuing, he will indicate that he came to Belgium “to work and to have papers”. Without family ties in Belgium, the young Algerian multiplies odd jobs. “I was exploited, but I earned enough to eat,” he explains. Explanations that did not convince justice.
Speaking, the Advocate General paints a portrait of the darkest of Slimane. The young Algerian has bad associations, among supposed drug traffickers. The portrait painted by the Advocate General is sent to Slimane by the translator. The latter refutes it with a shake of the head.
The next hearing will be devoted to the defense of Slimane.