Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Within the framework of the hearings in the trial file of those involved in the Brussels bombings that left more than 32 dead and hundreds injured, which took place in March 2016, the oral arguments for the defense began today, Thursday, and will continue for two and a half days, after which the court will deliberate on Monday afternoon.
Today, Thursday, Mohamed Abrini’s lawyers, who believe they need 3 hours, Salah Abdel Salam (maximum 1 hour) and Bilal Al-Mukhoukhi (maximum 3 hours), are speaking. They will be followed on Friday by lawyers Osama Karim (3 hours), Sufyan Ayari (1.5 hours) and Hervé Pingana Muherwa (3 hours). Unlike what happened in the first months of the trial, the hearing will be on Friday. On Monday, it will only be up to Ali Al-Haddad Al-Soufi, who will plead for an hour and a half. Possible responses and final words will follow, after which the court will deliberate late in the morning.
The Public Prosecutor called for the maximum possible punishment to be imposed on all defendants. For the six defendants who were convicted of terrorist murder, attempted murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group - Osama Attar, who is being tried in absentia and not represented by a lawyer, Abrini, Karim, Abdel Salam, Al-Haddad Al-Soufi and Al-Makhokhi - they are demanding life imprisonment, a maximum sentence of 15 years and deprivation of their civil rights. , including their right to vote.
Only Herve Baingana Muherwa and Sofiane Ayari were convicted of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. OM asked for 10 years for Bayingana Muhirwa, but for Sofiane Ayari, it is not asking for an additional sentence in addition to the 20 years he received for the Forest shooting.
As for the five dual national defendants (Abrini, Al-Haddad Al-Soufi, Atar, Al-Makhouki, and Baingana Muherwa), federal prosecutors are also requesting that their Belgian citizenship be revoked.
The defendants' lawyers opposed imposing additional penalties on their clients. This occurred during a discussion about the timing of the crimes in which a number of defendants were involved, including Salah Abdel Salam, who strongly criticized federal prosecutors after the oral arguments regarding the sentences. Abdel Salam said, addressing the podium, "The public prosecutor requested the conviction of the innocent and did not Divides anyone. How can you let such an injustice pass? “You are letting yourself be deceived,” he said, addressing the presiding judge, Laurence Massart. According to Abdel Salam, the public prosecutor’s office “begged for hours” to convince the jury that the Al-Farsi brothers were guilty, before acquitting them in The end. “They do not discriminate and demand life imprisonment for everyone. For them, Najm Laachraoui (who blew himself up in Zaventem, ed.) is the same as Mohamed Abrini, and I, like Osama Attar and Ali Haddad Asoufi, is the same as the two Bakraoui brothers (the suicide bombers of Malbec and Zaventem, ed.). We are in a state of law. How can you let such injustice pass? Abdel Salam continued: "Do not be deceived by two people who cannot read two sentences without making a mistake, and give us a glimmer of hope." "I did everything that was asked of me, I played the game, and therefore I ask you not to listen to the prosecutor's office."
After Abdel Salam's intervention, the court began its deliberations.
His lawyers say imposing an additional sentence on Abdel Salam would be illegal
Sentencing Salah Abdeslam to an additional sentence in addition to the life sentence he received for the Paris attacks would be illegal. This was stated by his lawyers, Delphine Bassi and Michel Bouchat, on Wednesday morning during the discussion on the simultaneity of the crimes. In its statement, the Federal Prosecutor's Office requested that Abdeslam be sentenced to life in prison for the attacks in Malbec and Zaventem, as well as a maximum of 15 years from the court that handed down the sentence.
Abdus-Salaam's lawyers said Abdus-Salaam should not receive an additional prison sentence in accordance with the law. The debate revolves around whether Article 62 or Article 65 of the Penal Code applies to “accidental offences”. It occurs when someone commits several crimes before being finally convicted of one of them - Abdeslam committed the crimes in Brussels before being convicted in Paris.
According to the defense, only Article 62 applies, which means that no penalty may be imposed, and that only the most severe penalty can be maintained. According to Bassi, the "incompressible" (non-reducible) life sentence in Paris is clearly more severe than the life sentence with publication claimed by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office. “We are not asking for pity, we are only asking for the application of the law,” Bassi concluded.
After Abdeslam's defense, Mohamed Abrini's lawyers also demanded that no additional punishment be imposed on their client. "If you have already been sentenced to life in prison, you cannot get the same sentence again," he said.