(Brussels) A dozen searches were carried out Wednesday in Belgium, including three in military barracks, as part of an investigation into suspicions of links with the extreme right, said the country’s federal prosecutor.
This prosecution case is part of the continuation of the Jürgen Conings affair, without however having any direct link with the death of this radicalized soldier found dead last June after a hunt for more than a month.
The soldier, on file for his sympathies with the extreme right, had threatened to attack representatives of the Belgian state and a known virologist ”. He committed suicide with a gun.
The case highlighted a lack of surveillance of radicalized elements within the army and shook the Belgian Defense. Several internal investigations were then carried out.
“The individuals potentially involved are suspected of having disseminated or made available to the public messages with the intention of inciting to commit a terrorism-related offense. This file is in the context of circles suspected of being linked to the extreme right, ”said the prosecution in a statement.
The eleven searches carried out by the judicial police of Charleroi (Wallonia, south) took place in three barracks and eight homes, according to the prosecution.
According to the newspaper Le Soir, the investigation more specifically targets four young French-speaking soldiers who exchanged extremist opinions, especially on social networks.
According to RTBF (Belgian public radio and television), this operation was not aimed at arrests, but the possible seizure of material for analysis.