With assize trial in sight, Belgium commemorates terror attacks of 22 March 2016
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels.
Several commemorative events are planned. Later this year, the long-awaited assize trial on the attacks will also begin.
On Tuesday 22 March 2016 at 7.85 am, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. The explosions in the departure hall caused death and destruction. An hour later, at 9.11 a.m., another bomb exploded in the Brussels metro station Maelbeek, near the European quarter and about ten kilometres from the airport. There, a suicide bomber blew himself up among the many commuters on their way to work. Again, there were several deaths.
The Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA), which determines the threat level in Belgium, raised the terror level from three to four - the highest level, while Brussels went into lockdown. People were urged to stay at home. Meanwhile, the emergency services were busy recovering the dead and transferring the hundreds of injured to various hospitals in Brussels and the rest of the country. The balance of the worst terrorist attack in Belgium was heavy: 32 dead and more than 340 injured.
Commemorative moments are planned this morning at Brussels Airport and at the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, where the terrorists struck on 22 March 2016. This afternoon, there will also be a commemoration ceremony on the Schuman Square in Brussels, where Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo will lay flowers at the monument to the victims of the terrorist acts.
For the victims and their relatives, 2022 is an important year, because after more than six years, the assize trial is to start in October in the old NATO buildings in Haren. Ten suspects will appear before the assize court for their role in the events. About a thousand people have filed civil claims, including victims, victims' associations and relatives of the deceased. More than 300 people have registered as injured parties.
Six years after the attacks, insurers have paid out about 58.8 million euros to the victims, Assuralia, the federation of insurers, has just announced. The insurers have also set aside a reserve of EUR 60.6 million to guarantee future payments.
© BELGA / BENOIT DOPPAGNE