"Smaïl Farisi and the Critical Months before the March 2016 Attack: Personal Testimony and Rich Information"

2023-05-11 15:59:49

HA, who had an emotional relationship with the accused during the critical months preceding the attack of March 22, 2016, gave the court testimony that was both very personal, but also very rich in information, lasting almost 3 hours. .

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Journalist at the service of society

By Arthur Sente

Published on 05/11/2023 at 17:59
Reading time: 7 mins

Iunseizable Smaïl Farisi. The man who made his apartment on rue des Casernes (in Etterbeek) available to the El Bakraoui brothers in October 2015 and who, the day after the attacks, cleaned up the traces of their passage there with the help of his brother Ibrahim, has accustomed the court to his outbursts and mood swings since the start of the trial. Sometimes quoting from memory entire tirades of Céline and Camus during the audience breaks, sometimes dozing on his desk. Sometimes leaving the room during the testimonies of the victims, sometimes publicly evoking his addiction to alcohol forcing him to drink “two beers” before going to the hearing. Around him, at Justitia, the character sometimes provokes annoyance. But also, it seems, a certain empathy.

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