the Belgian federal prosecutor threatens not to allow investigators to testify if their anonymity is not respected

Frédéric Van Leeuw, Belgian federal prosecutor, threatens not to let the Belgian investigators come to testify at the trial of the attacks of November 13 from November 25 if their anonymity is not respected, can we read in a letter that he addressed to Jean-Louis Periès, the president of the special assize court of Paris, to which franceinfo had access on Wednesday, November 17.

In his letter, the Belgian federal prosecutor challenges Jean-Louis Periès with these words. “The national anti-terrorism public prosecutor’s office warned me last November 10, that you would have decided not to grant investigators from the anti-terrorism unit of the Brussels Federal Judicial Police the anonymity which is nevertheless granted by article 656 of your code of criminal procedure to the French anti-terrorist police officers while the police officers of the two countries worked together in the same joint investigation team “.

The Belgian prosecutor recalls that 70 videoconference hearings are planned for Belgian investigators at the November 13 trial. It’s about “a considerable workload”, recalls the prosecutor. If the anonymity of the investigators is not respected, he says to himself “legally impossible” to let the investigators testify “without violating my own national legal order and even committing a criminal offense”. Indeed, according to Frédéric Van Leeuw, a Belgian law of December 25, 2016 “inspired by French legislation” guarantees the anonymity of the special and anti-terrorist units of the Belgian federal police.

This question, raised by the Belgian federal prosecutor, will be the subject of a debate in hearing in council chamber on Friday 19 November (between the president of the special meetings of Paris and lawyers exclusively). Jean-Louis Periès will make his decision immediately.