Resignation of Justice Minister and Extradition Failure in Brussels Attack Case: Sanctions and Procedures Explored

2023-10-21 13:33:00

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. Problem: this was never applied, and the terrorist was able to stay on our soil to commit his crime.

So how can we explain this hiccup? Indeed, in 2022, a magistrate would have responded to all international extradition requests, 30 in total, except that of Abdesalem Lassoued. How to explain it? “First I want to say that I don’t know everything that happened“, explains Pascale Monteiro Barreto, spokesperson for the magistrates’ union association. “But if there was a mistake, there will be a disciplinary investigation“, she explains.

What does he risk?

If Vincent Van Quickenborne spoke of a “monumental error” by the magistrate, Pascale Monteiro Barreto speaks first of all of a collective responsibility. “The floor is one and indivisible, targeting individual responsibility is a bit easy“.

But what does this magistrate risk, concretely, if there is a fault? “Generally speaking, there are two types of sanctions: minor sanctions and major sanctions. These can range from suspension, loss of income, to revocation, that is to say that the person loses his status as a magistrate and also loses his pension rights.“.

There are therefore sanctions and procedures to achieve this. “It’s important to say it so people don’t think there’s nothing there.”.

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