Belgium to launch biggest-ever criminal trials since WWII over 2016 terror attacks

The gruesome 2016 terror attacks in Belgium had jolted the European country through its core. It was one of the deadliest attacks on the country since the end of world war two. In light of the attacks, Belgium is all set to launch the biggest criminal trials in its history. Sky News reported that ten people will face murder charges relating to the death of 32 people in the 2016 terror attacks. In the March attacks, bombs exploded at Brussels airport, the mayhem at the airport was then followed by another blast in a metro train.

According to Sky News, nine of the defendants will be present in the Brussels court. The tenth accused named Oussama Atar will not be attending the trials. If reports are to believe, Atar may have died in Syria. The prime suspect in the trials will be a man named Salah Abdeslam. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted for his part in the Parris attacks in 2015. Abdesalam was one of the five defendants who were convicted in the French court, it is alleged that he is involved in the Brussels attack as well. 

In the 2016 attacks, 32 victims lost their lives and more than 300 people were left injured. While the three terrorists lost their lives in the suicide bomb attack, 62 among those injured were in critical condition. Earlier this year, it was reported that a young Belgian woman, who was present during the attack decided to be euthanised, she believed that the attack has caused, “intolerable and psychological” pain in her life. On Sunday, it was reported that the survivors of the Brussels attack are all set to testify as they seek closure at the trials. 

What went down in the 2016 terror attacks 

The Brussels terror attacks were two coordinated attacks in Brussels, Belgium, that were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in 2016. Three coordinated suicide bombing incidents occurred at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem and at Maalbeek Metro station. Charles Michel, the then Prime Minister of Belgium described the attack as, “blind, violent and cowardly.” It was alleged that the perpetrators were involved in the 2015 Paris attack as well. Following the attack the Belgian administration declared a three-day mourning all over the country, to honour those who lost their lives in the attack. 

The trials will be held in the former NATO headquarters building in Brussels. According to Sky News, the Brussels administration is all set to incur around 30 million euros over the trials. Earlier it was reported that the victims and their families have been pushing these trials for a very long time hoping for closure. However, the Belgian authorities claimed that the legal and logistical hindrances caused the delay. The trials are expected to stretch into 2023.