The process surrounding the attacks of 22 March 2016 at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station has started with an hour delay. The cause was the long queues at the access controls. Two alternate jurors also dropped out. The most famous accused are Salah Abdeslam and Mohamed Abrini.
The trial in the Justitia building in Haren should have started in October. However, because the accused box had to be adjusted, the trial was postponed for two months.
The press from home and abroad is present en masse, which led to long queues. Journalists had to wait a long time in the rain, reportedly also because the police were not ready in time. The entrance was supposed to be open at 07:30, but the first journalists were not allowed in until after 08:00.
A first session for the selection of the jury took place on 30 November. After a long day, during which chairman Laurence Massart listened for nine hours to reasons for a possible exemption of candidate jurors, five men and seven women were finally drawn as effective jury.
Another nine women and fifteen men were called in as alternate jurors. The question now is how long it will take before a first juror has to be replaced. The process is expected to take six to nine months. If at any point there are no twelve jurors left, the trial must be redone.
469 pages
Ten accused are on trial: Oussama Atar, Mohamed Abrini, Salah Abdeslam, Ali El Haddad Asufi, Bilal El Makhoukhi, Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa, Smail Farisi, Ibrahim Farisi, Osama Krayem and Sofien Ayari. Oussama Atar, accused of being the leader of a terrorist group, is the only one missing from court. In April 2019, the terrorist group IS announced his death, but there is no conclusive evidence for this. That is why he is still being tried in absentia.
“The first day of the trial will start very quietly,” says terror expert Faroek Özgünes. “The nine defendants present will have to identify themselves. They must say who they are and what their occupation and address are. The Farisi brothers come as a free person and take a seat at a table right in front of the box. They would only have provided handyman services.”
“Then it is up to the civil parties, which are represented by a hundred lawyers, to make themselves known. People can also still file a civil party during the course of the process. Finally, there are instructions for the judges. They will be told how the process will proceed and what exactly is expected of them. For example, jurors may ask questions, but they may not express their personal opinion. Otherwise, they risk being avenged.”
Starting tomorrow, federal prosecutors will begin reading the 469-page indictment. If there are deeds of defence, they will be read next week. From December 19, the interrogation of the accused is on the agenda. In total, the suicide bombings at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station left 32 dead and 324 injured.
Read also: These are the 32 victims of the attacks in Brussels on March 22 and their loved ones: “I hated Belgium for a long time” (+)
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