Suspects Sky file still remain in cell: public prosecutor appeals | Brussels
BrusselsThe federal prosecutor’s office has appealed against the decision of the Brussels council chamber to release two suspects in extensive drug files. The two suspects appear in court on Thursday, but were sent to the courthouse by that court because they could not be determined.
One of the suspects is said to be a member of the large criminal organization that was rounded up on October 26, 2021. That organization would have been active in the cocaine trade between South America and Europe, and could be dismantled thanks to the information that investigators extracted from the thousands of deciphered messages from the hacked SKY ECC network. The second suspect was arrested in February of this year in another investigation into another criminal organization, which could also be rounded up thanks to the information from the SKY ECC raid.
Released
Both persons appeared before the council chamber on Thursday as part of their interim custody. However, neither of them was present at the hearing because they could not be guaranteed from prison to the courthouse. The council chamber can therefore be released without conditions. “The council chamber seems that the Belgian prisons are not able to allow detainees to come to court due to a shortage of staff,” both decisions state. “When it is no longer about force majeure, it is about a systematic problem. Since the rights of the defense are violated, the accused becomes as a result.” The federal prosecutor’s office has appealed against both decisions. The two suspects therefore remain in jail and must appear before the indictment chamber within fifteen days.
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