During his interrogation before the Assize Court responsible for judging the 2016 Brussels attacks which left 32 dead, Mohamed Abrini explained that Ibrahim El Bakraoui had two bombs when he blew himself up at Zaventem airport. Laurence Massart, the president of the court, began questioning the defendants on the facts of March 22, 2016, focusing on the day when the attacks occurred. Abrini explained that El Bakraoui had a backpack in addition to the large bag containing the bomb as he had a pressure cooker in it. The accused, Abrini, stated that he never intended to blow himself up that day and that the terrorists initially planned to strike once more in Paris to cancel the Euro. The president questioned whether Abrini knew there was going to be an attack, and he replied that he was aware of it, but he did not know where the second attack would take place. Abrini confided his surprise when he learned that he was to be the first to trigger his bomb.
Ibrahim El Bakraoui had two bombs when he first blew himself up at Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016. This was explained Thursday morning by Mohamed Abrini, who had accompanied him to Brussels Airport that day, during his interrogation before the Assize Court responsible for judging these attacks which left 32 dead, including 16 in Zaventem.
After asking personality questions on Wednesday, the president of the court, Laurence Massart, began the cross-examination of the defendants on the facts on Thursday, focusing on the day of March 22 at first.
After questioning Mohamed Abrini on what happened in the morning before the arrival of the terrorists at the airport, Laurence Massart asked the “man in the hat” why Ibrahim El Bakraoui was carrying a backpack in addition to the large bag containing the bomb. “He had a pressure cooker in his bag”, he replied. The first suicide bomber therefore had two bombs: one made of 30 kg of TATP, like Najim Laachraoui and Mohamed Abrini, and another of 20 kg in the backpack. Before that, the accused explained to the president the reasons why he had given up setting off his bomb. “They point at me and I see the line (where he has to go to blow himself up, editor’s note). I turn around immediately and that’s when I decide to tell them. I see women, children. I See them from afar, I turn right back. I tell them I’m not doing this.”
Mohamed Abrini reiterated that he never intended to blow himself up on March 22 and that the terrorists’ original plan was not to target Brussels. “It happened so quickly, it’s very complicated. We were overwhelmed by events. There was never supposed to be an attack in Belgium. The initial plan was to strike once more in Paris (…) to make cancel the Euro.”
A declaration which goes in the direction of an audio message found on a computer of the terrorists and where Najim Laachraoui explained that the objective was indeed to attack France once once more.
“Since Salah (Abdeslam, editor’s note) was arrested, it happened very quickly. Plan A fell through and we had to strike here. But I knew that, even for Paris, I was not going to go. I’m okay with some things, not others. I know there’s going to be a drama.” says the defendant.
“Did you know there was going to be an attack?” then questioned the president. “Yes, the wills had been sent. There were the photos with the flag of the Islamic State. No need for a diploma to understand that it is the package of the jihadist who will take action”, replied Mohamed Abrini, assuring that he knew that it would be a double attack on March 22 but did not know where the second attack would take place.
“Me, I showed them that I was determined, but not at all in fact. It happens so quickly … We believe that it is done calmly, but it goes very quickly”, explained once more “the man in the hat”.
“At no time do you say to yourself that ‘I’m not getting in this taxi’?”, asked Laurence Massart. “I’m not going to go so far as to say that, without me, there will be fewer deaths. But I knew that I was not going to blow myself up”said Mohamed Abrini once once more, confiding his “surprise” on learning, once at the airport, that he was to be the first to trigger his bomb.
For the accused, whose objective was to return to Syria the day following the November 13 attacks in Paris, the people present that day at the airport (and in the metro at Maelbeek) were doubly victimized, both of the foreign policy of the West once morest the East but also of that of the terrorist organization Islamic State.
“That’s why I told you yesterday that you are not fit to judge such a case”then launched “the man in the hat”. This case is beyond us all.” he said Wednesday during the personality interrogation. “What do you want to judge a case where heads of state have decided something, including those of the Islamic State, and in the middle there is us?”
For Mohamed Abrini, the president of the court is subject to a “huge pressure” to satisfy public opinion. Laurence Massart replied that she was appointed as a permanent judge and that she therefore “risked nothing” professionally, being irremovable to her post. “So we are not under any pressure on our careers”she assured him. “But we must always remain vigilant in our States…”she concluded.
The interrogation of Mohamed Abrini before the Assize Court responsible for judging the 2016 attacks in Brussels has shed light on the intricate details of the terrorist plot. Abrini’s revelations regarding the twin bombings that killed 32, including the use of pressure cookers as explosive devices, reveal the barbarity of the terror group. Mohamed Abrini’s position, who has been accused of being the “man in the hat,” further demonstrates the lack of humanity exhibited by the attackers. The trial will continue to provide insight into the planning and execution of the attacks, allowing victims and their families to receive some closure and justice.
