(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, […]
(Brussels Times) Saliha Raiss (Vooruit) was sworn in as a member of the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean municipal council on Wednesday. Her candidacy, approved by secret ballot, received the support of 20 councillors while 16 voted against. One vote was declared invalid. Mrs Raiss will […]
(Brussels Times) The local council of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean will hold an extraordinary meeting on 6 September to vote on the candidature of new Vooruit councillor Saliha Raiss, Mayor Catherine Moureaux (PS) said on Tuesday. Raiss’s nomination has gathered the necessary 23 signatures — […]
(Brussels Times) Improvised prayer rooms in universities have become the subject of discussion after an opinion piece by Nadia Geerts of the Francophone liberal MR party denounced the existence of these so-called “clandestine” areas at ULB University. For several years, a place […]
(Brussels Times) The trial of the 22 March 2016 terror attacks, adjourned on 25 July after the guilty verdict, resumed on Monday morning for the closing arguments. The terror attacks trial began at the Justitia in Haren last December and at the […]
(Brussels Times) Salah Abdeslam (33), who faces a life sentence for his part in the March 2016 terrorist attacks in Brussels, does not want to return to France after the trial and instead wants to serve his sentence in a Belgian prison, […]
(Brussels Times) The Swedish government published on Friday the directives for an inquiry to review the Public Order Act and the possibility to limit public gatherings and demonstrations that might pose a threat to its security. The directives were first announced in […]
(Brussels Times) The greatest threat of terrorism continues to come from individuals inspired by Islamist extremism, often referred to as jihadism ideology. However, violence from right-wing extremists can also not be ruled out. Last year, there were 215 threat reports related to […]
(Brussels Times) After 19 days of deliberations (the longest deliberation ever at an Assize trial in Belgium), the jury will publicly announce its verdict at the trial on the March 2016 Brussels terror attacks at 16:30 on Tuesday. In early July, the […]
(Brussels Times) Today (Thursday) is the last day of the Brussels terror attacks trial before the jury will deliberate whether the accused men are guilty and on what counts. In early December, the trial on the 2016 terror attacks at Brussels Airport […]
(Brussels Times) The defense team of Smail Farisi will present its case in the trial over the 22 March 2016 bombings on Monday. Farisi is accused of providing a hideout to suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui, his brother Khalid, and Osama Krayem […]
(Brussels Times) The Liège Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old man from Verviers to a suspended sentence of three years’ imprisonment for the remainder of his pre-trial detention and a suspended fine of €4,000 for half. The man was found guilty […]
(Brussels Times) A new representative body for Islam in Belgium has been created, with the Muslim Council of Belgium set to come into force this week to replace the scandal-hit Executive of the Muslims of Belgium (EMB). Belgium’s Justice Minister Vincent Van […]
(Brussels Times) State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor announced on Monday that she has asked for the refugee status of a man from Afghanistan to be re-examined due to cases of hate speech. The man — identified by Belga […]
(Brussels Times) Around 2,000 representatives from 600 cities around the world flocked to Brussels today to attend the Brussels Urban Summit 2023. But one participant garnered particular attention. Alireza Zakani, the ultra-conservative mayor of the Iranian capital of Tehran, was spotted among […]
(Brussels Times) The Antwerp Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced Nora Verhoeven, the repatriated widow of an Islamic State (ISIS) fighter, to 48 months in prison, 18 of them suspended. In 2015, the Brussels woman, then 21 years old, was sentenced in absentia […]
(Brussels Times) The 2016 terror attacks trial was adjourned at the Brussels Assize Court after a suspect’s lawyer investigated potential issues of impartiality behind the testimony of psychiatric expert Samuel Leistedt. Nicolas Cohen, the lawyer for the terror suspect Bilal El Makhoukhi, […]
(Brussels Times) Thursday marks the final day of testimonies at the trial of the Brussels terror attacks that occurred in March 2016, with 13 people expected to appear in court. The witnesses set to [take the stand] are known acquaintances of accomplices who are […]
(Brussels Times) For several weeks, the victims of the 22 March 2016 attacks came to lay a little of their burden of painful memories before the Brussels court of assizes. On Wednesday, an army psychologist lifted a corner of the veil on […]
(Brussels Times) The seven people arrested in Flanders on Thursday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack have been placed under arrest warrants. They will appear before the council chamber within five days to determine whether or not to extend their custody, […]
(Brussels Times) Belgium’s Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has contradicted an announcement made by Iran that the much-discussed prisoner swap to free Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele has been agreed. Despite long efforts to broker an agreement that would see Vandecasteele liberated […]
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