In late March, the Belgian federal police’s anti-terrorist section conducted a series of operations resulting in the arrest of eight individuals suspected of plotting attacks, including one targeting Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp and president of the Neo-Flemish Alliance. Seven of the suspects have been imprisoned, and a court will rule on their continued detention on 3 April. The police carried out searches in Antwerp, Brussels, Zaventem, Flemish Brabant and Eupen. Four individuals detained in Antwerp have been indicted for participation in a terrorist group, attempted assassination in a terrorist context, preparation of a terrorist offence and dissemination of a message with the intention of inciting the commission of such an offence. In Brussels, two individuals were arrested and indicted on terrorist charges, while a Bulgarian national was indicted on preparation of a terrorist offence. The federal prosecutor’s office stated that operations were aimed at thwarting “possible terrorist attacks,” and four of the suspects were on “S” status and under surveillance. Law enforcement intervened following picking up conversations indicating the suspects were seeking heavy weapons.
A series of operations carried out by the anti-terrorist section of the Belgian federal police led to the arrest, at the end of March, of eight people suspected of planning attacks, one of whom allegedly targeted Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp. and president of the Neo-Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the leading party in the Flemish region. Seven of the eight suspects have been imprisoned, they must appear Monday, April 3 before a court to rule on their continued detention.
On March 27, the police searched various addresses in Antwerp, Brussels, Zaventem, in Flemish Brabant, and Eupen, in the east of the country. Two days later, the federal prosecutor’s office mentioned, in a press release, operations intended to prevent “possible terrorist attacks”.
Four people apprehended in Antwerp – three Belgians, including a woman, in her twenties, and a 26-year-old man of Turkish nationality – have been indicted for “participation in the activities of a terrorist group, attempted assassination in a terrorist context, preparation of a terrorist offense and dissemination of a message with the intention of inciting to commit a terrorist offense”.
“S” files
In Brussels, two Belgians aged 19 and 23 and a Bulgarian aged 20 were arrested. They were all three indicted for terrorist activities, only the youngest being for preparation of a terrorist offence.
“Our services did not want to take any risks and intervened as soon as there was a question of violent acts”, commented the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne. He also said that the name of Mr. De Wever had appeared during the investigation carried out by the police, prior to the arrests. Four of the suspects were on “S” status and under surveillance.
A spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office explained that the place and time of the attack which was to target the president of the N-VA were not fixed. Law enforcement reportedly swung into action when they picked up conversations indicating the suspects were looking for heavy weapons.
“We came close to the drama of a hair”, estimated, on the LN24 channel, a deputy of the majority, Daniel Ducarme. The elected official sparked a controversy by accusing the Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden, of inaction. The latter, in consultation with the Coordinating Body for Threat Analysis, decided not to raise the alert level in the country, now level 2, on a scale of 4.
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The arrests made by the anti-terrorist section of the Belgian federal police have once once more highlighted the ongoing threat of terrorism in Europe. The thwarted attack on Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp, serves as a stark reminder that vigilance once morest extremist ideologies remains critical in the fight once morest terrorism. Despite the successful arrests, the fact that four of the suspects were already under surveillance as part of the “S” files raises further questions regarding the effectiveness of monitoring and preventing potential terrorist acts. As Belgium continues its efforts to counter terrorism, it is clear that the need for continued cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies is more important than ever.