The development of the new box for the accused in the trial of the attacks of March 22, 2016 will not be ready for October 10, estimates the SPF Justice. As a reminder, on Friday the president of the Brussels Assize Court ordered the dismantling of the individual and closed cases of the defendants.
► See also: Trial of the Brussels attacks: the court orders the dismantling of the coffers of the accused
The president of the assize court, Laurence Massart, suspended the hearing to take note of a letter sent Wednesday evening by the SPF Justice, in which it was communicated that the dismantling of the coffers of the accused and their reconstruction could not be completed for the 10 October, the date of the constitution of the jury.
We recall that on Friday the president ordered the dismantling of the coffers, single and closed, of the defendants, believing that on various aspects they hinder the rights of the defense. He left the decision on how to retrain these boxes to the discretion of the FPS Justice.
“Materially” impossible over time
The SPF is attached “To immediately implement this court decision and mobilize all its resources”He explains.
More “After a thorough analysis by the SPF teams, it is impossible that this work can be done by 10 October for purely material reasons”, explaining among other things that each glass wall of these ultra-safe boxes weighs several hundred kilos.
The public service also specifies that it depends, for this type of mission, on external service providers, and must cope with the unavailability of some parts, while it will also be necessary to modify all the ground wiring.
Two options
The magistrate said he will ask the SPF Justice if the hearing of the jury draw can be held with the defendants placed outside the pits and surrounded by police, with then a postponement of a few weeks for the start of the proceedings.
The second, less favorable option that Laurence Massart intends to propose is to set new dates as soon as possible for the two hearings, that of setting up the jury and that of the beginning of the debates. This other solution, however, has the disadvantage that the Assize Court will have to recall the approximately 600 candidate-jurors who have already been summoned for 10 October.
► Read also: Process of the attacks in Brussels: at least 370 witnesses called to appear
The defendants’ lawyers react
Me Virginie Taelman, the lawyer of the defendant Bilal El Makhoukhi, reacted following the announcement of the postponement: “I think we have to go back to basics, remember under what conditions a process has to take place (…) We are told by both sides that it is absolutely necessary to put glass everywhere. I believe we can think of a pragmatic solution. Do we need to build something that is so secure when we already see all the security in place?” he asked.
The lawyer said he had “hard to believe that we absolutely have to postpone everything“, and he made it clear that an alternative should have been found,”and don’t assume that justice will validate them“. Me Virginie Taelman regrets that the trial is not taking place in calm conditions, as expected: “The goal is to tell yourself that you need to be ready for October 13th and then see what you can do to get ready for that date.“, He recalled.
His colleague, Me Delphine Paci, Salah Abdeslam’s lawyer shares this opinion: “The defendants are transferred under complicated conditions and are searched when they arrive here, “he said.” What is particularly surprising is that one day we might imagine that these boxes would be accepted as they are, while violating almost all articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights“.
Smail Farisi’s lawyer, Me Sébastien Courtoy, called on the Minister of Justice and the Federal Prosecutor to resign: “We wonder if it will start in December, or rather in 2030, here or on the moon … We are losing face internationally.
Con Belga – Photo: Belga / Eric Lalmand
■ Duplex the Bernard Denuit and interview with Anne Leclercq, spokesperson for the Assize Court
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