When a sentence is high, or the risk of absconding or reoffending is too great, the deputy public prosecutor requires arrest at the hearing and direct transfer to prison.
The Brussels Courthouse is bathed in shock and incomprehension this Thursday morning, following the decision not to carry out these immediate arrests in view of the worrying profile of the two condemned men.
A “classic” situation
“What’s the point of making this request if it’s not to execute it?“, asks one of our sources. Others still cite prison overcrowding to understand this decision. “Maybe there weren’t enough police officers available to make the arrest“, we are still told in reference to the blatant lack of personnel within the DAB, the federal police service responsible for prisoner transfers and the security of the country’s courthouses.
The authorities are however categorical on this subject, in this case, the DAB is not involved, which is also confirmed by most of our sources.
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“Our colleague decided not to immediately arrest two of the defendants who had been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment because the latter were almost always present or represented at the various hearings in this case. Furthermore, these two defendants have their family and their ties in Belgium. The colleague therefore considered that there was no risk of evasion on the part of the two defendants“, tells us the public prosecutor’s office in Halle-Vilvoorde.”It’s a pretty classic situation. It is not uncommon for arrests not to be carried out immediately to give them time to put themselves in order.“, whispers a substitute from another floor.
