The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent van Quickenborne, announced his resignation on Friday. Belgian media report this. The decision follows the terrorist attack that took place in Brussels on Monday evening.
Tunisia asked Belgium last year for the extradition of Abdesalem L., the Tunisian man who committed the attack on Monday. Belgium did not respond to this. That was “a mistake with dramatic consequences,” according to Van Quickenborne. The justice minister says he wants to take responsibility for the “unacceptable” shortcoming.
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In 2016, the Belgian police had already been warned by a foreign police service that L. had been radicalized, but nothing was done with that information. L. is also said to have threatened an asylum seeker earlier this year, who reported it to the police. L. himself stayed in Belgium without a residence permit after his asylum application was rejected in 2020.
Attack against Sweden
Two Swedish men were killed in the terrorist attack, which took place in the center of Brussels on Monday evening. A third person was seriously injured. According to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, it was a targeted attack against Swedish citizens. Several Quran burnings have taken place in Sweden in recent months. In response, the terrorist group Al-Qaeda called for attacks and set fire to the Swedish embassy in Iraq.
After his act, L. fled and posted a video on his Facebook page in which he declared himself a fighter of the Islamic State. The police were looking for the perpetrator all night. On Tuesday there was a confrontation in a café, during which the police shot L.. He later died in hospital.