2023-10-21 10:44:00
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced his resignation on Friday evening during a press conference organized in the presence of Brussels Attorney General Johan Delmulle.
This resignation follows information gathered this Friday at 9:00 a.m. concerning the author of the attack committed in Brussels on Monday evening. On August 15, 2022, Tunisia requested the extradition of Abdessalem Lassoued.
But this request, transmitted on September 1, 2022 by the FPS Justice to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office, was not processed. The competent magistrate did not respond to this extradition request.
How can we explain this error by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office? According to Pascale Monteiro Barreto, the president of the magistrates’ union association, this is the consequence of a lack of staff and an overload of work. “There has been no captain on board the Brussels public prosecutor’s office since April 2021. This situation must be taken care of and managed urgently.”
Does the absence of a manager at the Brussels public prosecutor’s office justify a magistrate evading certain cases? “It’s like a football team without a coach. A football team where instead of 11 players, there are 7, and we’re going to take the goalkeeper out because he concedes goals. I think the solution is quite simple , it is the responsibility of the president of the club. That is why the minister took his responsibilities. It is the logical sequence of events. But now what do we do? If we take out the goalkeeper because he concedes too much, has the problem been solved? Certainly not”estimates the spokesperson for the magistrates’ union association.
And to conclude: “If there has been a fault, there will be a disciplinary investigation. An investigation which must be ordered by the commander. However, we have a functioning commander. He is a bit like the snake that is biting his tail. It was logical for the minister to resign. There is an extremely clear political responsibility regarding the absence of a captain on board the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.”
Vincent from Quickenborne
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