Investigators from the anti-terrorism unit of the Federal Judicial Police in Brussels (Belgium) testify by videoconference and anonymously at the trial of the November 13 attacks, which caused controversy. Faced with them, the French lawyers, like the victims, denounce a dodging strategy.
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A dozen Belgian investigators are due to come and testify until Tuesday, December 7 at the trial of the November 13 attacks, by videoconference and anonymous. Several have already spoken last week detailing the journey of terrorists in Belgium. Investigators put on the grill after the failure of the investigation, but who do not want to spread out.
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These hearings of Belgian investigators were, however, eagerly awaited by the victims and their relatives, eager for answers to the flaws in the case. But above all, they spread a feeling of frustration and anger. “A shame”, is carried away Arthur Desnouveaux, the spokesperson for the association of survivors Life for Paris. “It’s a huge disappointment, there is a form of sadness too, he blurted out. We came to tell about our pain, to expose ourselves, to tell difficult things. “
“We just have a Belgian system that tries not to be indicted in France, not to give information that could incriminate the way in which the fight against terrorism was carried out in 2015 in Belgium.”
Arthur Desnouveaux, spokesperson for the Life for Paris associationto franceinfo
Same anger on the defense bench. “We have no answer, denounces Me Martin Méchin who defends one of the accused. This is valid both for the civil party and it is also valid for the defense which is very frustrated. “ The lawyer believes that there is “testimonies which do not really correspond to the reality of the case and then there are perjuries, clearly. When a police officer says ‘no, we were not aware of such an element’, I remind you that the police officer takes an oath to tell the whole truth. Clearly, it wasn’t. “
Since last week, five defendants, Salah Abdeslam, Mohamed Abrini, Sofien Ayari, Osama Krayem and Mohamed Bakkali, have refused to take place in the box to challenge the absence in person at the helm of the Belgian investigators and their anonymization.