Thirteen years almost to the day after the tragedy of December 13, 2011, the Liège Court of Appeal delivered a verdict that leaves a bitter taste. The survivors and families of the victims of the shooting at Place Saint-Lambert are subjected to a new ordeal, marked by a civil conviction. A decision that resonates like a double punishment, for men and women who have already lost so much.
This Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Liège Court of Appeal ordered these victims to compensate the Belgian State to the amount of €1,800. She in fact ruled that the Belgian State was not at fault.
They, the victims, are condemned for daring to assert their rights within the framework of a civil procedure aimed at understanding the flaws of a judicial system. The killer, Nordine Amrani, was in fact on parole at the time of the events, against the advice of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
For these survivors, the absurdity of the situation does not only lie in the judgment. She finds herself under the weight of a fight waged for thirteen years. That of living with the psychological and emotional after-effects, invisible but very present, of a tragedy which cost the lives of 6 people and injured 150 to varying degrees.
After this judgment, the survivors admit their stupefaction, stuck between wanting to cry and rebel. But also that of remaining silent, of no longer testifying, of no longer denouncing. “ The next time you see something, don’t testify, don’t speak out. Above all, shut your mouth! » said one of them, a bitter, raw, moving testimony, the result of an exhausting fight.
A story that leads us to question ourselves, as a society. Listen to victims, support them, and, above all, give them justice?
A petition has also been posted online (more than 9,000 signatures already) by the family of Pierre Gérouville, who lost his life on the sad December 13, to request a reform of parole procedures, with strict controls to ensure the security of the population.
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