The local Ostend police zone received a call on February 27, 2022 around 5:30 am for a fight on Monacoplein. At the scene, a 23-year-old victim was found lying in a large pool of blood. “Without the quick intervention of the emergency services, he would not have survived,” said prosecutor Fauve Nowé. The civil party had a stab injury of ten centimeters in his left groin, which perforated an artery.
According to a friend of the victim, they had already had an argument in a dance hall. When they later bumped into a certain A. and his comrades again, the dolls started dancing. After the first conflict, LL was said to have been called in to restrain A.. However, two witnesses pointed to him as the man who inflicted the stab. However, an examination of a knife found in the bushes a few days later turned up nothing.
Not a fighter
The Public Prosecution Service requested a suspended prison sentence of 30 months, with the exception of four months of pre-trial detention. The judge ultimately sentenced LL, as requested, to 30 months in prison, of which only pre-trial detention was effective. He must provisionally pay 1,500 euros in compensation to the civil party.
But the defense insisted on the acquittal. According to master Nadia Lorenzetti, A. was initially identified as the perpetrator. Based on the criminal records of some of those involved, the defense suggested that a drug conflict may have been the cause of the stabbing. “But my client has nothing to do with that. He is also not a knife puller or fighter at all.” Master Lorenzetti also noted that the investigation took an unnecessarily long time.
