In the trial of the March 2016 terror attacks in Brussels, Monday (tomorrow) will mark the opening of the final week of victim testimonies before the Brussels court of Assizes.
Monday will start with the testimony of two sisters of Laurianne Visart de Bocarmé, who died in the explosion in Maelbeek. The girl's father, a former RTBF journalist who is now retired, and her mother have declined to appear in court. Christelle Giovannetti, a survivor of Maelbeek and member of the board of directors of Life4Brussels, will come next, followed by Stella Muloway Kabula.
The afternoon will be dedicated to the interventions of Alhem El Khaldi, Sabah Agharbi and Sara Margoum, who all three were injured in the metro in Maelbeek. Two victims of Brussels Airport Zaventem (Lisa Dignac and Julien Ciarniello) who asked late to be allowed to testify will take the stand at the end of the day.
The victims' testimonies should end on Wednesday 29 March, before several experts (Computer Crime Unit of the Federal Judicial Police, an Islamologist, a professor in geopolitics, criminologists and a psychiatrist) take the floor.
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The cross-examination of the defendants will begin on Monday 3 April and will last for a fortnight.
Eight men – Mohamed Abrini, Osama Krayem, Salah Abdeslam, Sofien Ayari, Bilal El Makhoukhi, Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa, Ali El Haddad Asufi and Smail Farisi – are charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders of 32 people and attempted terrorist murder of 695 people. The ninth, Ibrahim Farisi, is only charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group.
On 22 March 2016, two explosions sounded at 07:58 in the departure hall of Brussels National Airport in Zaventem. A third bomb was discovered at the scene a little later, which the bomb disposal services detonated after evacuating the emergency services and police still on site. An hour later, at 09:11, another explosion occurred, this time in the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels. These terrorist attacks left 32 people dead and nearly 300 injured.
