(Brussels Times) Salah Abdeslam, who is serving a life sentence in France for his role in the 2015 Paris attacks, was briefly taken into custody as part of an investigation into the illegal possession of an item in prison. According to France’s […]
(Brussels Times) Not more than two months ago, the Brussels Times met with TRENDS Research & Advisory, an Abu Dhabi-based think tank, which hosted an annual forum on political Islam. Barely a fortnight later, Belgian police foiled a jihadist-inspired plot to assassinate […]
(Brussels Times) The Antwerp Court of Appeal has confirmed the pre-trial detention of two suspects for another month, rejecting their appeal as unfounded, the federal public prosecutor announced on Monday. The pair had appealed against a decision issued by the council chamber […]
(Brussels Times) Lawyers for two men arrested in Antwerp over an alleged terrorist plot targeting political figures have argued that the attack was “technically impossible.” The lawyers called for their clients to be released under conditions or placed under electronic surveillance. The […]
(Brussels Times) Flemish Minister for Employment Zuhal Demir has accused Turkey of abusing visa-free green passports to send pro-Erdogan imams to Belgium to influence third- and fourth-generation Flemish Turks. She has urged Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot to launch an investigation, according […]
(Brussels Times) Two men, aged 18 and 23, who were arrested on suspicion of planning to carry out a drone attack in Antwerp last week will remain in the cell for another month, the Antwerp council chamber confirmed. Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart […]
(Brussels Times) The municipality of Ranst, where Vlaams Belang holds a majority, has dismissed an Islamic religion teacher from the local primary school over concerns of “signs of radicalisation.” According to councillor Christel Engelen (Ons Ranst — Vlaams Belang), no formal complaints […]
(Brussels Times) The Brussels Court of Appeal has confirmed that Nizar Trabelsi must be released from detention, following an earlier ruling by the Brussels council chamber. Trabelsi, a former professional footballer from Tunisia, was arrested in Belgium in September 2001, shortly after […]
(Brussels Times) Commotion took place at a municipal council meeting in the Brussels commune of Jette on Wednesday evening: several councillors left the meeting after the Palestinian flag was called “the flag of a terrorist movement” during a debate on its presence […]
(Brussels Times) The introduction of religious and ideological “neutrality” in East Flemish provincial schools has been postponed to September 2026. The decision would apply to both students and staff, banning any visible symbols of religious or political beliefs, such as headscarves, skullcaps, […]
(Brussels Times) The Iranian regime has been after her for decades now. She has spent most of her life speaking out against the Islamic Republic’s abuses, and was once jailed for 24 days in one of Iran’s worst prisons. Darya Safai knows […]
(Brussels Times) The Halle-Vilvoorde Office of the Public Prosecutor is set to launch an investigation into alleged plans by the Iranian regime to kidnap Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) parliamentarian Darya Safai. This was announced on Tuesday evening by OPP spokesperson Ingrid Moriau. Safai […]
(Brussels Times) Flemish Interior Minister Hilde Crevits has overturned a decision by the East Flanders provincial council to ban religious symbols, including the Islamic headscarf, in all schools directly managed by the province. The decision, made on 30 April, was set to […]
(Brussels Times) A subsidy granted for years to an organisation suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood is now under scrutiny in the FWB legislature, with Mouvement Réformateur (MR) parliamentarian Denis Ducarme calling for a commission of inquiry into the issue. According […]
(Brussels Times) Opposition party Vlaams Belang has criticised Interior Minister Hilde Crevits’s decision to recognise 17 additional mosques. Although party leader Chris Janssens commends the minister for not recognising any mosques from Diyanet or Milli Görüş, he believes that giving a positive […]
(Brussels Times) Flemish Minister of the Interior Hilde Crevits (CD&V) has not approved any recognition requests from Diyanet mosques, a decision welcomed by Flemish MP Nadia Sminate (N-VA), who advocates for a comprehensive review of already recognised mosques. Minister Crevits reviewed 58 […]
(Brussels Times) Individuals convicted of serious offences such as organised crime, homicide, or sexual offences may soon face the loss of Belgian nationality, following an agreement by the Council of Ministers announced by Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday. This revocation will […]
(Brussels Times) A Belgian intelligence report from late April describes the Collective for Inclusion and Against Islamophobia in Belgium (CIIB) as a “Muslim Brotherhood-leaning pressure group,” La Dernière Heure reported on Wednesday. The confidential document was written by the PFCECT, the integrated […]
(Brussels Times) The Brussels Court of Appeal ordered the Belgian state to pay additional penalties for not doing enough to bring convicted Nizar Trabelsi back to Belgium. The former Tunisian footballer was sentenced in Belgium in 2004 to 10 years in prison […]
(Brussels Times) A Syrian national, aged 28, was sentenced by the Liège Criminal Court on Friday to 40 months in prison and an €8,000 fine for participating in the activities of a terrorist group. The man’s activities, committed between September 2023 and […]
(Brussels Times) Swedish jihadist Osama Krayem has shown no empathy or remorse during his trial in Stockholm for his alleged involvement in the execution of Muath Al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who was burned alive in a cage in Syria, the lawyer for […]
(Brussels Times) Flemish Minister of Internal Affairs Hilde Crevits (CD&V) has not yet received the decision from East Flanders regarding the implementation of a ban on religious symbols in provincial schools, delaying judgement on two complaints. The party Groen and a citizens’ […]
(Brussels Times) Seven recommendations for policymakers to prevent radicalism in schools were put forward on Friday by the delegate general for children’s rights, Solayman Laqdim. The delegate calls for a “broad and nuanced” approach. In the wake of teacher assassinations in France […]
(Brussels Times) Suspects in terrorism-related cases in Belgium are increasingly younger, according to the Federal Prosecution’s annual report for 2024 released on Monday. Last year, over 70 individuals were summoned in federal cases in Belgium on charges of committing terrorist crimes. The […]
(Brussels Times) A court in Mechelen sentenced an Afghan man on Tuesday to a four-year suspended prison term for his involvement in the activities of two terrorist organisations. The man was found guilty of creating social media accounts for members of the […]
(Brussels Times) A proposal to ban teachers in public education from wearing religious symbols will be tabled in June by the education minister of the French Community Government, Valérie Glatigny (MR). She revealed the information to La Première on Friday. The debate […]
(Brussels Times) The province of East Flanders has introduced a ban on wearing religious and political symbols in provincial education, aimed at ensuring philosophical neutrality, a decision approved by the provincial council on Wednesday amid some controversy. Coalition partner Vooruit voted against […]
(Brussels Times) The court of appeal in Antwerp has postponed the judgement on a foiled assassination attempt on the then mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever (N-VA), until 24 April. Five members of a suspected terrorist group are on trial in the […]
(Brussels Times) Nine years ago today, on 22 March 2016, Brussels experienced its deadliest terrorist attacks in history. Early in the morning on 22 March 2016, suicide bombers detonated explosives at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and later at Maelbeek metro station, near […]
(Brussels Times) Belgian authorities will start cooperating more closely to better share information in the fight against radicalisation and extremism among minors, announced Flemish Minister for Justice and Enforcement Zuhal Demir (N-VA). The number of minors involved in terrorist activities is on […]
(Brussels Times) The Walloon government plans to “eventually” ban the home slaughter of pigs, goats and sheep, as it already does for cattle and horses. The aim of the measure is to enforce better compliance with food safety and animal welfare legislation, […]
(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 […]
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