Laura Van Lerberghe (correspondent in Brussels)
modified to
10:41 a.m., December 06, 2022
The trial of the jihadist attacks in Brussels, which left 32 dead and more than 300 injured, opens on Monday, December 5. Nine men are tried, including the French Salah Abdeslam but also the Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini. The latter denounced his conditions of transfer to the Palace of Justice.
A dramatic twist at the opening of the trial for the Brussels attacks. These jihadist attacks left 32 dead and several hundred injured in 2016. Nine men are on trial, including the French Salah Abdeslam but also the Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini. The one who is nicknamed “the man with the hat” stood out. He denounced his conditions of transfer to the Palace of Justice.
“Underlining a reality”
Standing, angry, Mohamed Abrini addresses the president of the court. “We are humiliated,” he says. “Every morning, we are stripped naked, blindfolded, satanic music in our ears. That has to change,” he concludes. He threatens not to answer any questions if the terms of his transfer from prison until trial are not eased.
One of the defense lawyers, Maître Gultasard, understands this position: “Defendants, under these conditions, would not wish to continue the proceedings. This is not blackmail at all, it is just to underline a reality” , he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
“Take the trial hostage”
For master Lisse, one of the victims’ lawyers, this speech is difficult to hear: “One can imagine that the conditions of detention are difficult. Now, this is not a reason to try to take the trial hostage”, justifies the lawyer.
And for good reason, some defense lawyers already want a suspension of the trial if the transfer conditions do not improve.