Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever expressed fear after the incident that the attack could lead to more violence. “We will respond, but not in the way the mayor of Antwerp thinks,” says Othman EB Gazette of Antwerp from Dubai, where the thirty-something has been staying for almost ten years. “We will search for the perpetrators together with the police and the judiciary.”
According to the man sought by the Belgian judiciary for cocaine smuggling, revenge is not an issue. He also denies involvement in drug trafficking and underworld practices. “I dare say with a big mouth that I have never had to deal with any violence.”
His sister Naziha’s 11-year-old daughter was killed when their home in Antwerp came under fire. The perpetrators shot at a garage door, but people lived behind it. Initially, the police assumed that the child died because a combination microwave oven was hit and exploded. Her two sisters, aged 13 and 18, were injured. The 58-year-old father of the family suffered minor injuries. Othman says he doesn’t know why his sister’s house was shot at.
‘Our family has nothing to do with drugs’
“That my family is being dragged through the mud again makes me furious,” says Naziha The newspapaer. “My brother is not to blame. Angry at him? Of course not. He was never convicted, you know. He is portrayed as one of the richest men in Dubai. Well, let Bart De Wever come and have a cup of coffee with us. He is invited here. Then he will see that we are just simple people. Our family has nothing to do with drugs and has no problems with anyone.”
“If the perpetrator were standing here in front of me right now, I would forgive him, because I know he will never be able to forgive himself,” Naziha said. “I am not out for revenge at all. What does that yield?”
Othman’s brother Younes has previously been convicted of drug trafficking. He was kidnapped years ago by French criminals, reportedly on behalf of a Dutch drug lord. Othman EB provided the police with information at the time leading to the arrest of the kidnappers.
‘This should not go unpunished’
The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, spoke of terrible news on Twitter. “An innocent child has died. Several other children seriously injured. The drug mafia cannot fall deeper than this. The police and public prosecutor are doing everything they can to find and punish those responsible.”
Antwerp’s public prosecutor Franky De Keyzer, who heads the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office, has also responded to the attack for the first time. “We are not going to allow this to become the new normal,” he says. “This must not and cannot go unpunished.”
De Keyzer states that the public prosecutor’s office had warned “several times on all kinds of forums” that there would one day be fatalities in attacks within the drug environment. That fear has now come true. The prosecutor assures that the public prosecutor’s office, the investigating judge, the federal judicial police and the Antwerp local police are doing everything they can to track down and prosecute the perpetrators.
Tracking message
In the meantime, the police and the public prosecutor’s office have issued a search notice about the deadly attack. They ask witnesses, anyone who saw suspicious actions, or people who have camera images from the area, to report.
“In the context of this investigation, the police are looking for camera images of the spacious area around the Nieuwdreef in Merksem between 6 and 7 pm,” the police and the public prosecutor’s office said. “Anyone who witnessed these facts or suspicious acts in the area is also asked to report this to the police. Discretion is assured.”
You can contact the investigators on the toll-free number 0800 30 300 or by e-mail to OBJECTIVES@police.belgium.eu. The search report can also be read on www.politie.be.