The trial of three men accused of torturing Otmane Souieh to death in August 2023, without the intention of killing him, begins on Wednesday at the Brussels Assize Court.
The accused are Mohammad Ahmadi (31), Norddin Mousati (40) and Yassine Hourra (32).
The victim died on 11 August 2023 in the emergency department of the CHU Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels, following several attempts to resuscitate him. As there were many suspicious marks on his body, an investigation was launched.
At the end of August 2023, the first suspect, Mohammad Ahmadi, was placed under an arrest warrant. Norddin Mousati was arrested at the end of September, and Yassine Hourra was brought before the investigating judge in December.
The events are believed to be linked to drug trafficking in Anderlecht. A financial dispute is said to have arisen between the victim and the suspects.
During a final confrontation between the three accused men in May 2025, two of them are said to have tried to shift the blame for the blows inflicted onto each other. The third man is said not to have struck anyone, but to have been present during the violence.
The three accused are on trial for intentional inhuman treatment resulting in death, but without the intention to kill. The trial is expected to last until 22 June. The jury was selected by lot on Friday.
Ahmadi and Mousati are under electronic monitoring, whilst Hourra has been released on bail.
