Several civil parties are calling for the establishment of a joint French-Belgian team to further investigate the crimes committed by the 1980s Nivelles gang, more commonly known as the Brabant Killers.
According to a press release by French lawyer Patrick Ramaël on Friday, there could be a breakthrough in Belgium's biggest cold case, which was recently closed due to a lack of breakthroughs on identifying the perpetrators.
Ramaël has submitted his request to the Belgian Minister of Justice, Annelies Verlinden. He believes that the case could be concluded before the end of June if this joint team is formed.
On 24 April, the Court of Indictment in Hainaut decided that new investigative actions were needed in the Nijvel Gang case.
Detectives are attempting to determine if Thierry and Xavier Sliman, two now-deceased French criminals, were involved in the violent robberies in Belgium.
Ramaël argues that his request is justified due to the seriousness of the crimes. “All the case files are in Belgium, but the suspected perpetrators are in France,” he stated. So far, Minister Verlinden has not responded to Ramaël’s request.
Between 1982 and 1985, the Nijvel Gang carried out several violent store robberies in Belgium, resulting in 28 deaths. The perpetrators’ identities were never uncovered.
The federal prosecutor’s office decided to halt the investigation last June, but several civil parties have since requested further investigative actions, which have yet to produce any results.
