(Brussels Times) A man suspected of helping to deliver the weapon used in the Brussels terror attack in October 2023 was arrested last week in the Netherlands. The attack claimed the lives of two Swedish football supporters. A person was arrested in […]
(Brussels Times) Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir has launched a survey aimed at mapping out the issue of radicalisation in schools. The survey is linked to an action plan against violent radicalisation currently being prepared by the Flemish government, Demir said on […]
(Brussels Times) More and more young people in Belgium are involved in terrorism, the annual report of the State Security showed. The youngest person arrested was barely 13. One-third of the investigations by the State Security Service (VSSE) into individuals ready to […]
(Brussels Times) The next government must decide whether or not to repatriate Belgian fighters in Syrian prisons, the interim foreign affairs minister has stated. Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM) has identified […]
(Brussels Times) Federal migration centre Myria has called on the government to stop revoking the Belgian nationality of children of Palestinian descent born in Belgium. This request follows a report published on Thursday by the national migration centre. Since the summer of […]
(Brussels Times) There are around ten Belgian citizens in the Islamist group that ousted Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria last week, according to Belgium’s interim Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin (MR). In a shock chain of events, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir […]
(Brussels Times) The province of Flemish Brabant has been accused of discrimination for banning full-body swimsuits at the Halve Maan provincial domain in Diest, according to a ruling by the Flemish Human Rights Institute on Monday. In July 2023, a community centre […]
(Brussels Times) Belgium did not overstep the line when it stripped two convicted terrorists of their Belgian nationality in 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday. The convicted terrorists were Malika El Aroud — also known to the […]
(Brussels Times) Belgium’s terror alert level remains at 3 (out of 4), according to the Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM) on Tuesday. There are no specific threats to the Christmas markets, which are gradually opening as the festive season approaches. “The […]
(Brussels Times) Antwerp police are considering monitoring the Jewish neighbourhood in the city with smart cameras to detect violent anti-Semitic incidents in advance. The Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent criticised military offensive against the Gaza Strip, and later […]
(Brussels Times) Five imams have seen their work permits being withdrawn after it was uncovered that the Turkish government was funding them. They risk being evicted if they are not employed by the end of this year. The Flemish region’s Employment Minister […]
(Brussels Times) Today marks one year since the terror attacks which killed two Swedish football fans in Brussels. On 16 October 2023, Tunisian national Abdesalem Lassoued shot and killed two Swedish football fans who were in Brussels to attend a match at […]
(Brussels Times) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) did not make a decision on Thursday regarding the case of two Belgian women who believe that a police regulation prohibiting them from going swimming in a burkini constitutes religious discrimination. The ECHR’s […]
(Brussels Times) The Brussels prosecutor general’s office is challenging the naturalisation of Imam Mohammed Toujgani, according to a report on local online platform Bruzz, confirmed by interim Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole De Moor. The Moroccan imam moved to […]
(Brussels Times) One of the three Chechen suspects detained in late July as part of an investigation into terror has been conditionally released on Friday, confirmed his lawyer Boris Reynaerts. On 25 July, 14 searches were carried out by the Antwerp Federal […]
(Brussels Times) Seven people suspected of being involved in the activities of a terrorist group have been arrested in several house searches across Belgium. First reports suggested the suspects were involved in preparing a terrorist attack. The Antwerp Federal Judicial Police carried […]
(Brussels Times) While the various political parties remain very discreet about their negotiations to form the Brussels-Capital Region government, the French-speaking liberals MR and regionalist DéFi vetoed the presence of the Team Fouad Ahidar party in a future government. MR party leader […]
(Brussels Times) The Antwerp Criminal Court is due to issue its verdict on Wednesday in the trial of an alleged terrorist group accused of plotting to murder the city’s mayor, Bart De Wever, who also chairs the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA). The suspects […]
(Brussels Times) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that it upholds the ban on hijabs in Flemish Community secondary schools. It rejected the applicants’ complaint that the ban is incompatible with freedom of religion. The case was brought by […]
(Brussels Times) The leader of the Dutch branch of anti-Muslim organisation Pegida, Edwin Wagensveld, burnt a Koran in the city of Arnhem (in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border) on Saturday afternoon. An earlier attempt by Wagensveld in […]
(Brussels Times) A 25-year-old man from Menen (West Flanders) has been referred to the correctional court on charges of terrorism. The man, of Chechen origin, reportedly planned, together with his partner, an attack in Antwerp’s Jewish district. Three other suspects will have […]
(Brussels Times) Today (22 March) marks eight years since the Brussels terror attacks which claimed the lives of 32 people and injured hundreds more. The famous Manneken-Pis statue has been dressed for the occasion in a nod to victims and their families. […]
(Brussels Times) The threat level in Belgium remains high, with Brussels in particular a potential target — as October’s terror attack proved. Belgium’s threat assessment body (OCAD) has observed a significant rise in threats in 2023. The second-highest threat level remains in […]
(Brussels Times) The Flemish far-right Vlaams Belang party replaced the Antwerp place name signs with Arabic ones on Thursday night, as a protest against “the Islamisation of the city.” However, Arabic speakers have pointed out that they completely misspelt the new name. […]
(Brussels Times) The Brussels Parliament has decided to tighten its visitor regulations following a video of an imam reciting a prayer in the parliamentary hemicycle that circulated online last Friday. The incident occurred on 12 January and has been condemned by politicians […]
(Brussels Times) In the investigation into the terrorist attack in which two Swedish nationals were killed in Brussels in October 2023, the Italian anti-terrorist police carried out searches targeting 18 people on Tuesday. The operation concerned “18 people of North African origin” […]
(Brussels Times) Former French jihadist Jonathan Geffroy (41) was sentenced on Friday to 18 years in prison by the Paris Special Assise Court for his involvement with the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group from 2015 to 2017. Geffroy, who claims to be […]
(Brussels Times) Three suspects apprehended on a Flixbus bound for Brussels were released after being questioned about an alleged bomb plot, according to the East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office. The bus, having departed from Lille, was en route to Brussels when a […]
(Brussels Times) Espionage and counterintelligence are once again key priorities for Belgium’s State Security. However, the threat of jihadist-inspired terrorism, which was at the top of the agenda several years ago, is also resurging. At the start of every new year, Belgium’s State Security […]
(Brussels Times) The Federal Police of Belgium is taking measures to [strategize] its workings following last year’s terror attack in Brussels, but says that eradicating the risk entirely is “impossible.” Several people including senior police officers were heard before the House Committees […]
(Brussels Times) KU Leuven university has filed a complaint against student mosque International Muslim Student Association Leuven (IMSAL) after a sexist lecture was held there, Apache reported on Friday. “A woman without a headscarf will never be able to be a role […]
(Brussels Times) Three individuals suspected of involvement in a terror attack in the capital last month are appearing before the Brussels Chambers on Friday, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed. The three individuals were placed under arrest following five house searches in Ninove, […]
(Brussels Times) Over a month after two Swedish citizens were killed during a terror attack in Brussels, Belgium will maintain terrorist threat level 3 for now, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Belgium’s Coordination Body […]
(Brussels Times) Investigators are looking for witnesses and camera footage related to the terror attack that claimed the lives of two Swedish nationals in Brussels on 16 October. The Federal Police published a search notice on Wednesday at the request of the Brussels […]
(Brussels Times) In the aftermath of the terror attack in Brussels last month, a prospective law was discussed in parliament for the first time to ensure foreign nationals and asylum seekers required to leave the country actually do so. State Secretary for Asylum […]
(Brussels Times) The head of the Dutch anti-Muslim organization Pegida, Edwin Wagensveld, tore up a second copy of the Holy Koran on Thursday afternoon in court at the opening of his trial in The Hague. He then left the courtroom. Wagensveld is […]
(Brussels Times) A man arrested in connection with the 16 October attack in Brussels will remain in provisional detention at least for another month, according to Belgium’s federal prosecutor. The man is suspected of being connected to the weapon used during the […]
(Brussels Times) As a new suspect was arrested for his possible involvement in the recent shooting in Brussels, and the violence between Israel and Hamas continues, Belgium is expected to remain at terrorism threat level 3 for “some time.” Two Swedish citizens […]
(Brussels Times) A man who was arrested in the investigation into the Brussels attack on 16 October denies his involvement, his lawyer announced. A decision on his further arrest will be made later on Monday. The federal prosecutor’s office ordered two house […]
(Brussels Times) Belgium is set to remain at threat level 3 for some time following the Brussels attack and ongoing Israel-Hamas war, according to Gert Vercauteren, the head of OCAD, the agency responsible for terror threat analysis. Since the attack in Brussels, […]
(Brussels Times) A 23-year-old Palestinian man who reportedly told the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) that he intends to “die as a martyr by blowing himself up” has now been arrested, La Dernière Heure reports. The man was […]
(Brussels Times) The Antwerp Criminal Court on Tuesday postponed the trial against the “Kruger group” to 24 October. Fifteen radicalized Muslims are on trial in this case for their participation in the activities of a terrorist group. To build up their arsenal, […]
(Brussels Times) Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever says police [are] closely monitoring the “worrying situation” in Israel and “will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our Jewish community.” Vigilance in Antwerp’s Jewish quarter had already been raised due to […]
(Brussels Times) Several Islamic institutions that are signatories and members of the Coordination Council of Islamic Institutions in Belgium (CIB) are to launch several petitions for annulment of the education programme on relational, affective and sexual life (EVRAS) with the Constitutional Court, […]
(Brussels Times) The final curtain has fallen over the biggest-ever trial in Belgium as none of the parties involved in the trial of the 2016 Brussels terror attacks has appealed in cassation, meaning that the sentences handed down by the court on […]
(Brussels Times) The Constitutional Court on [Wednesday?] annulled several provisions of a Flemish decree banning local religious communities from receiving funding or support from abroad, a measure aimed primarily at mosques. The decree of 22 October 2021 regulating the recognition of local […]
(Brussels Times) Victims of the jihadist attacks that left 35 dead and hundreds injured in Brussels on 22 March 2016 want to meet the convicted culprits to get answers to questions left pending at the end of their trial. “Around ten victims […]
(Brussels Times) The Neptunium swimming pool, which reopened this weekend after six years of major renovation works, will permit people to swim in a burkini (a swimsuit typically worn by Muslim women, covering their entire body) so everyone can enjoy the facilities. […]
(Brussels Times) The court and the jury have started their deliberations on the sentences of the eight convicted men in the next phase of the trial for the March 2016 terror attacks in Brussels. An important legal-technical question is also being discussed […]
(Brussels Times) Salah Abdeslam insisted on Monday that he was unfairly tried and a victim of the media during his final remarks to the court in charge of trying the men accused of the 22 March 2016 terror attacks in Brussels. Abdeslam, […]
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