According to Verviers Federal Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, an individual was arrested on Wednesday then released on Thursday after four letters containing white powder were sent to two mosques, to the CRVI (which promotes integration and equal opportunities for foreigners) and to an address in the Walloon region which serves as the postal address for the CEC (the centre for equal opportunities. The investigation into the four letters containing suspicious white powder is ongoing in Verviers. “Four envelopes containing white powder were sent to the CRVI, two mosques, as well as to the CEC’s Walloon region postal address,” explained the Verviers Federal Prosecutor's Office on Thursday. Although a suspect was arrested on Wednesday, he was released on Thursday without charge due to a lack of evidence.
“When the four letters arrived, the disaster and emergency services were called to the various locations and the powder was sent for laboratory analysis. In each case, the powder was found to be harmless,” said the deputy federal prosecutor, whilst making clear that this matter was being taken very seriously, owing to the relationship of the targets to community or religious positions.
For his part, Marc Elsen, Verviers alderman, pointed out that he does not want to provoke mass hysteria about this case “when all of the evidence seems to point to it being an isolated incident.”
(Source: Belga)
