Federal Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne resigns. The Open VLD member announced this in a special press conference on Friday evening.
It has come to light that Tunisia last year requested the extradition of Abdesalem Lassoued, the man who committed an attack in Brussels on Monday. The competent magistrate did not respond to that question. Van Quickenborne says he takes responsibility for that “unacceptable error”.
“I have requested all available data, which I explained to the press this week in all transparency,” he further explains. “This morning I had to determine that there was an extradition request dated August 15, 2022, which was transferred by the FPS Justice to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office on September 1, 2022. The public prosecutor’s office did not respond to it.”
“This is the only one of 31 similar files that was not processed further after receipt”
“A mistake with dramatic consequences,” said the resigning minister. “As a minister, I cannot and may not intervene in the decision of a magistrate. Even though this is the work of an individual independent magistrate, I still want to take my political responsibility. I do not look for excuses or excuses. The new information from the public prosecutor’s office affects in my heart, because I have done my best to improve the judiciary.”
“Unfortunate coincidence”
Johan Delmulle, Attorney General of Brussels, explained that 31 similar files were received by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office last year. “This is the only one of those 31 that was not processed further after receipt,” Delmulle said. “I can only conclude that the only cause is an unfortunate combination of circumstances, whereby the file was put on hold and lost sight of.”
At the end of his speech, Van Quickenborne apologized “on behalf of justice” to the victims and surviving relatives, and to the Belgian and Swedish population.
According to Mediahuis newspapers, Abdesalem Lassoued was sentenced in Tunisia to 26 years and 8 months in prison for an attempted murder in 2005. He escaped from a prison in Tunisia in 2011 and the country requested his extradition for escape, arson and vandalism.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
