November 2015 attacks: trial in Belgium of the nebula of alleged accomplices – Belgium
Fourteen suspected accomplices of the jihadist commandos behind the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris are on trial from Tuesday in Belgium, where the beginnings of the bloody squad which left 130 dead were played out.
This trial before the Brussels Criminal Court, relocated to the former headquarters of NATO, is scheduled until May 20. The judgment, put under advisement, should be rendered on June 30 at the latest.
Parallel to the assize trial currently being held in Paris –for twenty defendants including fourteen present–, it is a question of trying suspects dismissed from the French judicial procedure but suspected by Belgium of having transported, hosted or financially assisted certain perpetrators of the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis , in the suburbs of Paris.
Aid from Belgian soil which may have intervened during the preparatory phase of the attacks, for example driving to the airport for a trip to Syria, or materializing after November 13.
Are particularly targeted relatives of Salah Abdeslam suspected of having been aware of the group’s intentions or of having protected the four-month run of this jihadist who remained the only living member of the commandos whose attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
One of the suspects, Abid Aberkane, cousin of the Abdeslams and almost their neighbor in Molenbeek, is on trial for having the fugitive jihadist at his mother’s home in the last days before his arrest on March 18, 2016.
Among the other defendants revealing friends of Abdelahamid Abaaoud – the coordinator of the attacks -, the two El Bakraoui brothers, who blew themselves up during the attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016 (32 dead), as well as a brother by Mohammad Abrini. Known as “the man with the hat”, he gave up on dying that day at Brussels-Zaventem airport.
Ibrahim Abrini, the last of the siblings, is suspected of having facilitated Mohamed’s trip to Syria – by buying him a phone – when the latter went there at the end of June 2015 in the footsteps of Souleymane, their brother killed in the combat zone the previous year.
“Paris Bis”
In this file called “Paris Bis”, two of the fourteen suspects will be judged by default because they are presumed dead in Syria.
They are Sammy Djedou, whose death was announced by the Pentagon in December 2016, and Youssef Bazarouj, another Belgian suspected of having been associated in Syria with the IS external operations cell. He was also reportedly killed in a war zone.
Djedou, a Brussels man born to an Ivorian father and who left to fight in Syria in October 2012, is accused of a role as “leader” of a terrorist organization, which can be worth up to fifteen years in prison.
Most of the defendants must answer for “participation in the activities of a terrorist group” and encourage five years of imprisonment. Two are on trial for related offences, one for violations of weapons and explosives laws, the other — the only woman in the case — for providing false papers to members of the cell originally attacks in Paris and Brussels. All appear free.
The minutes of heated exchanges between prosecution and defense on the degree of knowledge that the defendants had of the “terrorist” intentions of those they helped.
Youssef El Ajmi, childhood friend of El Bakraoui in Brussels, does not dispute having accompanied Ibrahim twice to the airport in the summer of 2015, first to Amsterdam-Schiphol then a month later to Paris-Roissy. But during the investigation he assured that he did not know that his friend wanted to join Syria from Turkey after a first failure.
“It was not marked on his forehead that he was going to fight in Syria, how many Belgians knew at the time that the caliphate had been proclaimed there?” Asks Michel Bouchat, lawyer for El Ajmi.
“Afterwards, driving a friend to the airport became part of a terrorist group, it was easy to sue,” he grimaces.
This trial before the Brussels Criminal Court, relocated to the former NATO headquarters, is scheduled until May 20. The judgment, put under deliberation, should be rendered on June 30 at the latest. In parallel with the trial of assizes which is currently being held in Paris – for twenty defendants, fourteen of whom are present -, it is a question of judging suspects excluded from French legal proceedings but suspected by Belgium of having transported, hosted or financially assisted certain perpetrators of the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis, in the Paris suburbs. Aid from Belgian soil which may have intervened during the preparatory phase of the attacks, for example driving to the airport for a trip to Syria, or materializing after November 13. Are particularly targeted relatives of Salah Abdeslam suspected of having been aware of the group’s intentions or having protected the four-month escape of this jihadist remained the only living member of the commandos whose attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. Abid Aberkane, cousin of the Abdeslams and almost their neighbor in Molenbe ek, is on trial for having the fugitive jihadist in his mother’s hidden home in the last days before his arrest on March 18, 2016. El Bakraoui, who blew himself up during the attacks of Brussels on March 22, 2016 (32 dead), as well as a brother of Mohamed Abrini. Known as “the man in the hat”, he gave up on dying that day at Brussels-Zaventem airport. Ibrahim Abrini, the last of the siblings, is suspected of having facilitated Mohamed’s trip to Syria –by buying him a phone–, when the latter went there at the end of June 2015 in the footsteps of Souleymane, their brother killed in the combat zone the previous year. In this file called “Paris Bis”, two of the Fourteen suspects will be tried in absentia as they are presumed dead in Syria. They are Sammy Djedou, whose death was announced by the Pentagon in December 2016, and Youssef Bazarouj, another Belgian suspected of having been associated in Syria with the IS external operations cell. He would also have been killed in a war zone. Djedou, a Brussels man born to an Ivorian father and who left to fight in Syria in October 2012, is accused of a role as “leader” of a terrorist organization, which can be worth up to to fifteen years in prison. Most of the defendants must answer for “participation in the activities of a terrorist group” and encourage five years of imprisonment. Two are on trial for related offences, one for violations of weapons and explosives laws, the other — the only woman in the case — for providing false papers to members of the cell originally attacks in Paris and Brussels. All appear free. The trial promises lively exchanges between prosecution and defense on the degree of knowledge that the defendants had of the “terrorist” intentions of those they helped. Youssef El Ajmi, childhood friend of the El Bakraoui in Brussels , does not dispute having accompanied Ibrahim twice to the airport in the summer of 2015, first at Amsterdam-Schiphol and then a month later at Paris-Roissy. But during the investigation he assured that he did not know that his friend wanted to join Syria from Turkey after a first failure. “It was not marked on his forehead that he was going to fight in Syria, how many Belgians knew at the time that the caliphate had been proclaimed there?”, questions Michel Bouchat, lawyer for El Ajmi. “After the fact, driving a friend to the airport became participating in a terrorist group, it was easy to bring ‘intention’, he winces.