TERRORISMBELGIUM
Belgium starts trial into 2016 Brussels bombings
3 hours ago3 hours ago
More than six years after the attacks, hearings will begin to determine whether 10 men played a role in the 2016 Islamist suicide bombings in Brussels.
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In its largest ever trial, Belgium will on Monday begin hearings over the 2016 Islamist bombings in Brussels that left 32 people dead and more than 300 injured.
More than 900 civil plaintiffs are taking part in the trial against ten suspects with charges that include terrorist murder, attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization.
Presiding judge Laurence Massart will confirm the identity of all the parties to the case, including the defendants and lawyers.
She will also address the jury selected from among 1,000 Belgians last week in a process that lasted 14 hours.
The attacks
In March 2016, three coordinated suicide bombings in Brussels brought the city to a standstill.
The first twin suicide bombing took place place at Brussels’ Zavantem International Airport, killing 16 people.
Another explosion at the Maelbeek metro station, near the European Union buildings, followed just over an hour later, leaving another 16 dead.
The so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Three attackers, all of whom were Belgian nationals, also died in the attacks.
Brussel trial: Terrorist attack victims
03:05
Who are the accused?
Salah Abdeslam, who was already sentenced to life in prison in June last year for his involvement in the 2015 Paris attacks, is the most prominent defendant in the Brussels trial.
The French citizen has also already been sentenced to 20 years in jail in Belgium for injuring three police officers in a shootout before his arrest.
Others include Mohamed Abrini, who prosecutors say went to the airport along with two suicide bombers, but fled without detonating his suitcase of explosives.
Swedish national Osama Krayem is accused of planning to be a second bomber on Brussels’ metro.
The 10 accused also include a person presumed to be killed in Syria who will be tried in absentia.
The trial, which is taking place in the former headquarters of NATO, is expected to last more than six months.
It was earlier scheduled to begin in October this year but was delayed as a hearing in September at Belgium’s Court of Assizes — which tries the countries most serious criminal cases — ended with the lawyers for the defendants saying that they could not proceed with the case if their clients had to speak through glass cubicles at court. Their challenge was successful and the cubicles were removed.
dvv/msh (dpa, Reuters)
