Thus begins Zakia Urriade’s story, “Breathe!” A book in tribute to his little brother Ismaïl, killed at just 41 years old by a fellow butcher at the Anderlecht slaughterhouse following a trivial argument which degenerated. The facts occurred on May 7, 2022. For 27 months, Zakia was confronted with the complexity and inconsistency of Belgian justice. In his poignant work, “written from the gut in just a few hours”she returns to the announcement of the death of her brother while she was in a shopping center, the absence of psychological help offered by the police, the complacency towards the attacker. But also the months of doubts, anger, incomprehension despite a case whose facts are crystal clear.
Ismaïl’s murderer, after having been appealed, received a 16-year prison sentence for intentional homicide with intent to cause death, with the motive: jealousy. “A crime of ego, of anger”as indicated by the lawyer for the civil parties during the pleadings. The attacker, visibly tired and on edge on the day of the tragedy, had “a murderous impulse”, as stated in the indictment, following a request from Ismail who was busy serving customers.
Heavy ordeal for the family of Ismail, butcher stabbed at the Anderlecht Abattoirs: “I had to sit 1.5 m from the man who killed my brother”
The completely gratuitous attack was entirely filmed by a surveillance camera. “The murderer immediately went to the slaughterhouse parking lot to be arrested by the policeshe explains. The weapon, namely a kitchen knife, was found at the crime scene. Everything was crystal clear, unequivocal. Despite this, I was faced with a long, painful legal procedure, dealing with cold and dehumanizing judges.”.
“The murderer sitting right next to me, without police”
Zakia will not soon forget her first meeting with the murderer. It was during the indictment chamber to find out whether the case was sent to the criminal court or to the assizes. “I expected to see the accused enter the room surrounded by police officers but not at all: he arrived alone, with his electronic bracelet. He sat on the bench five feet away from me. He didn’t show the slightest regret, not the slightest look. I had to take it upon myself not to jump on him. I never stopped thinking about my three nieces from whom I drew all my energy to keep from sinking. To my mother, whose loss of her son was unbearable, who knew how to remain stoic and gave me unimaginable strength.”
Thoughts of the victims of Strépy-Bracquegnies
Zakia is not the type to feel sorry for herself. Despite her dismay, this inextricable pain which has accompanied her every day for two and a half years, she wants to deliver a message of hope to the collateral victims who find themselves in a similar situation. “I am thinking in particular of the victims of the Strépy-Bracquegnies trial. (when a driver drove into the crowd at Gilles de Binche, killing 7 and injuring 38, Editor’s note), which occurred two months before the murder of my brother and the facts of which are still being qualified. I think of all these bereaved families who find themselves incomprehension. Losing a loved one in such a brutal way is unfair and unreal. This leaves a gaping hole that cannot be filled. It is an unspeakable pain, even more so when we cannot count on justice to compensate for even a short time for the distress.”
Gunshots heard this Sunday near the Anderlecht slaughterhouses
Humor to make a mockery of justice
During the 120 pages of the book, sprinkled with touches of humor to illustrate all the absurdity of the judicial system in Belgium, Zakia depicts her brother’s portrait as a common thread. “So that his daughters, his princesses, as he called them, would know what an exceptional father he was. A being with a solar face, who has never caused the slightest harm. He was always at the service of others, hardworking. He never raised his voice. Never, ever would he insult a colleague. I was therefore even more furious when the opposing party pleaded provocation to justify their client’s crime! Especially since it was clear that he had not insulted him in view of the surveillance camera. And even so, you don’t kill someone for that reason!”she fumes.
An injustice all the more unbearable since Ismaïl is no longer there while his murderer took more than two years, and an appeal rejected in cassation, before finding himself behind bars. “At home, bracelet or not, a killer can see his wife, eat what he wants, see his friends, make phone calls, sleep in his bed. can we read on page 52. “Since the day Ismail left this world, I swore to myself that I would not spend an ounce of energy on the murderer. I said to myself: ‘Zak, if you cultivate anger towards him, you will burn out. Leave revenge aside, it won’t do you any good. And I assure you that until the trial, I was able to hold on. I decide to alert the media. I cannot conceive that in a European country where the most serious crime in the Penal Code is blood crime, a murderer is left outside, at home under bracelet.”
Deadly brawl at the Anderlecht slaughterhouses: what the images from the butcher’s surveillance cameras say
In the grayness, she holds on, besides the work”copy” lawyers Me Gallant and Me Parewyck, to highlight the role played by the investigating judge Olivier Anciaux.which made it possible to launch a call for witnesses via the federal police to find two clients who witnessed the scene and whose testimonies were valuable. But also the intervention of General Counsel Aurélie Baurain when she apologized, on behalf of the company, for the way in which the announcement of the death was made to Zakia. “Words that are priceless”, she concludes.
“Breathe!”, published by Lamiroy. 120 pp. 15 euros.
