Trial on Belgian component of Paris attacks starts Tuesday
The trial on the Belgian component of the investigation into the November 2015 Paris attacks will start in the Brussels criminal court next Tuesday. Fourteen defendants are on trial for their role in the preparations for and aftermath of the Paris attacks. The trial will span thirteen sessions, which will take place between April 19 and May 20 at the Justitia site in Haren, Brussels. A verdict is only expected by the end of the judicial year.
On 13 November 2015, three groups totalling nine men carried out attacks at various locations in the French capital. On 22 March 2016, the terror cell behind those attacks also struck at Zaventem airport and in the metro in Brussels, Belgium. The attacks in Paris claimed 130 lives, those in Belgium claimed 32. Immediately after the attacks in Paris, a large-scale judicial investigation was launched, in both France and Belgium. Several suspects were identified and arrested. The main suspects have been handed over to the French judicial authorities and will be tried there for their role in the attacks.
In addition, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office is prosecuting fourteen other individuals who allegedly also helped prepare these attacks in some way, without necessarily knowing that an attack was being prepared. It concerns Sammy Djedou, Youssef and Ayoub Bazarouj, Abid Aberkan, Ibrahim Abrini, Mohamed Rabhioui, Soufiane Al Aroub, Abdoullah Courkzine, Smaïl Farisi, Youssef El Ajmi, Zakaria Jaffal, Rafik El Hassani, Lazez A. and Meryem E.B. The Belgian federal public prosecutor considers eleven of them to be participants in terror group activities. The Belgian Syria fighter Sammy Djedou is considered to be a terror group leader.
Sammy Djedou left for Syria in 2013 and is said to have held a senior position within IS under the name "Abou Moussab". He is said to have been in close contact with Oussama Atar, who is considered a key figure behind the Paris and Brussels attacks. Djedou was most likely killed in a drone attack on Raqqa in December 2016, but his death was never officially confirmed.
Youssef Bazarouj, who went to Syria in July 2014, is also believed to have died there, but is still being prosecuted. He is said to have been the right-hand man of Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Oussama Atar, considered key figures in the November 13 attacks. Like Abaaoud and Atar, Youssef Bazarouj would have played a crucial role in preparing the attacks. Bazarouj's brother Ayoub allegedly created Facebook and WhatsApp accounts from Belgium to enable Youssef Bazarouj to communicate, and would have helped Salah Abdeslam escape justice. He is said to have been in contact with Abid Aberkan, in whose residence Abdeslam was eventually arrested on 18 March 2016.
Ibrahim Abrini is the younger brother of Mohamed Abrini, who is currently on trial in Paris for his role in the November 2015 attacks. Mohamed Rabhioui and Soufiane Al Aroub are two acquaintances of Abrini. Also on the list are Abdoullah Courkzine, Smaïl Farisi and Youssef El Ajmi. After the November 2015 attacks, Courkzine was in contact with Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Abdelhamid Abaaoud's niece, until both Abaaoud and Ait Boulahcen were killed on November 18 during a police siege in Saint-Denis, France. Farisi and El Ajmi also turn up in the investigation into the 2016 attacks in Brussels and Zaventem, because Farisi had lent his flat to the El Bakraoui brothers, key figures in those attacks, and El Ajmi often visited the flat. Lastly, Zakaria Jaffal and Rafik El Hassani are also alleged to have participated in terrorist group activities. Lazez A. is being prosecuted for breaching the arms law. Meryem E.B. is on trial for allegedly providing false documents.
The first hearing will take place on April 19 at 2 p.m., followed by hearings on April 22 at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., on April 25 at 2 p.m., on April 26 at 2 p.m., and on April 29 at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. On May 2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, and 20, the trial will continue at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day.
(KOR)
© AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY