The first chamber of the court of appeal in Liege reviewed and cancelled the order of release for medical reasons which had been granted to Farid Bamouhammad. His request was deemed to be unjustified. This means Farid Bamouhammad must go back to prison. Farid Bamouhammad was released for medical reasons by the president of the court of first instance on November 30th. The decision was confirmed by the same court, but the minister for Justice Koen Geens (CD&V) appealed and requested this decision be reviewed. The prosecutor general also requested the decision be reviewed.
Farid Bamouhammad’s attorneys, Mr. Neve and Mr. Moreau, reckoned the court of appeal was not competent to rule on the minister’s request. They said their client should stay free.
But the court of appeal decided to review the decisions made by the court of first instance. It stressed that the first proceedings introduced by the defense attorneys did not allow for both parties to be heard. It also highlighted that Farid Bamouhammad created his own emergency situation by starting a hunger strike. Farid Bamouhammad’s order of release is thus cancelled. This means, at this point in the proceedings, that Farid Bamouhammad must head back to prison.
(Source: Belga)
