On the first day of the trial of Brussels attacks, one suspect will no longer speak
AP
NOS News•
On the first day of the trial against the suspects of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, suspect Mohamed Abrini complained about the conditions of the transport to the courtroom. Abrini said that he would no longer want to answer questions from the chairman of the jury if this does not change. “I am brought here with loud, satanic music and a blindfold. We are not supposed to,” Belgian media quote him.
The terror suspect said he feels humiliated with every transport, because he has to undress and wear a blindfold every time. “I will not say anything until the end of the process if it continues like this,” he said. At an earlier trial in France, he would have been treated “respectfully”.
In Belgium, the trial of ten men charged with the terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016 began today. 32 people were killed and hundreds injured in two explosions at Brussels Airport (Zaventem airport) and one in the metro at Maalbeek station in the center of the city.
The men are on trial for 32 counts of murder and 687 counts of terrorism-related murder. They are also barred from membership in a terrorist organization. The suspects risk lifelong destruction.
Today’s session was all about recognizing the parties and explaining the course of the process.
It is not a dignified process if the detention is not dignified.
Jonathan De Taye, lawyer for suspect Ali El Haddad Asufi, and Vincent Lurquin, lawyer for Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa, have also complained about the circumstances surrounding the transport. According to De Taye, the summaries would be strip searched daily “to inspect the anus”. “Do they think they might find a gun here? Does it have to be in a straight state? It’s not a dignified process if the detention isn’t dignified.” According to Lurquin, suspect Muhirwa had been wearing the same clothes for eight days.
De Taye said that for these reasons he will “more than likely” give a short answer tomorrow and ask questions about adjourning the trial in the meantime. If there is no discussion of a suspension, the reading of the summary of the investigation will take place tomorrow.
The following retrospective of the 2016 attacks contains shocking images:
The IS attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016
