Belgium’s Federal Police Commissioner-General Eric Snoeck and other senior officials have refused to attend a parliamentary hearing on the failed digitalisation project "I-Police".
The officials consulted a reputable law firm, which advised them against testifying.
According to Het Nieuwsblad, thirteen senior officials received an email containing a template letter to decline the invitation, citing "statutory and ethical obligations of discretion" and "strict confidentiality requirements".
Commissioner-General Snoeck and two other officials have already formally refused to participate and will not attend the hearing, announced Ortwin Depoortere, chair of the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee.
The Federal Police issued a statement explaining its stance. It noted that a legal review of the parliamentary invitation had concluded that federal police members cannot comment on the case in parliamentary hearings under threat of legal action.
Opposition MP Matti Vandemaele from Groen has called for the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry commission, which would compel witnesses to testify before MPs.
"There have been so many mistakes, and now the Commissioner-General is clearly trying to obstruct a parliamentary hearing," said Vandemaele. "For me, the situation is crystal clear: we need to open up this cesspit."
