Ex-soldier who threatened Belgian prime minister arrested in Norway

The ex-soldier who threatened prime minister Alexander De Croo in a video has been arrested in Norway. The Federal Prosecutor's Office confirmed this to Belga on Friday evening.

The suspect had boarded the plane on Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said, without giving further details on the circumstances of the arrest. "Thanks to a thorough investigation and good international cooperation, we have managed to arrest the man in Norway," Eric Van Der Sypt told VRT.

Van Der Sypt says there is no connection with the case of Jürgen Conings, the soldier who went missing with heavy weapons in 2021, sparking a manhunt. The man is a 30-year-old ex-soldier with apparently extreme right-wing views. He is said to have psychological problems.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office will first order a search of the house in Leopoldsburg to look for evidence, such as weapons. The investigation will then have to show "to what extent the terrorist threat was real", Van Der Sypt told VRT. The court will ask Norway for extradition.

^{© REUTERS/JOHANNA GERON}

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