2023-07-25 16:57:19
Tuesday shortly following 7:00 p.m., in front of a packed and feverish courtroom, the president of the Brussels Assize Court, Laurence Massart, began reading the verdict on the guilt of the 10 defendants in the trial of the attacks of March 22, 2016, at Justitia. Initially announced at 2:30 p.m., the reading was finally postponed for a few hours.
The jury found six defendants (Atar, Abrini, Krayem, Abdeslam, El Haddad Asufi and El Makhoukhi) guilty of terrorist murders. On the other hand, Sofien Ayari, Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa and Smail Farisi were acquitted on this count.
During the hearing, the president indicated that four victims, who died several years following the attacks, are added to the 32 victims killed on March 22, 2016.
More than 300 questions
After a tunnel of seven months of hearing and 18 days of deliberation – the jurors having had to answer nearly 300 questions -, the tension is palpable: defendants, survivors, families of the victims, defense lawyers and the civil party hold their breath, hanging on the lips of the president.
A heavy silence settled. The reading of the verdict, which should last several hours, might stretch until the early morning.
Given the crowds on this exceptional day in judicial history, three other relay rooms also opened their doors next to the courtroom where the court sits. Two of them welcome the public, the third the civil party.
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