Brussels Attack: Belgian Justice and Radicalized Profiles – Debating the Means and Measures

2023-10-25 12:16:49

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office announced, Wednesday October 25, the arrest of a person suspected of having a link with the weapon used by the author of the attack perpetrated on October 16 in Brussels. She will be questioned by investigators during the day, the prosecution said.

The Brussels attack cost the lives of two Swedes – a man in his seventies and a man in his sixties – who came to support their national football team in Belgium.

The attacker, a 45-year-old radicalized Tunisian staying illegally in Belgium, was shot dead on October 17 by Belgian police, and “an AR-15 type war weapon” had been found next to him, the federal prosecutor’s office then specified.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers The Brussels attack once once more reveals the shortcomings of Belgian justice

A debate relaunched on the means of Belgian justice

The attack reignited the debate on the means of Belgian justice and the lack of monitoring of radicalized profiles. After three vain attempts since 2011 in Norway, Sweden and Italy, Abdesalem Lassoued had an asylum request in Belgium rejected and was subject to an expulsion order since 2021 which was never executed.

After the attack, the Belgian government criticized the lack of cooperation from certain countries of origin to take back their nationals rejected from asylum. A defense undermined by the revelation that Tunis had been demanding the extradition of its national for more than a year but that the request had been ignored by the Brussels prosecutor’s office. The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, resigned immediately.

In France, two Tunisians, domiciled in the Paris region, were indicted Monday evening by a French judge as part of the investigation into the Brussels attack, the investigations still having to clarify their links with the attacker.

The World with AFP

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