Using article 44.11 of the law on police protocol, the Brussels Prosecutor’s office has decided to prosecute a police officer who didn’t pass on information about a gun used during the attack on the Brussels Jewish Museum. He will now have to appear before the Correctional Tribunal. This decision was announced on Tuesday, which confirms information given to the VRT. The officer could be given a 6 month prison sentence and/or a 156 to 3,000 euro fine. After images showing the shooter getting a stocked foldable Kalashnikov out of a bag, a veteran officer working for the Brussels federal judicial police information service received a tip-off saying the Kalashnikov was a weapon that had recently been seen in the area.
His superior (a commissioner) was present when the information was given and asked him to write a confidential report immediately, to insure the federal judicial police’s anti-terrorist department was told as soon as possible.
The director of the federal judicial police told the King’s Prosecutor there had been negligence. The Brussels Prosecutor’s office opened a penal investigation in August.
The information was also included in a recent memo on the buying and selling of guns. At the time, it was immediately passed on to the Prosecutor’s office in charge of the investigation into the attack on the Brussels Jewish Museum.
While waiting for the investigation to end, some internal measures have been put in place by the federal police. The investigator has been transferred to another department. The Director of the federal judicial police information service and his deputy have been relieved of certain duties.
(Source: Belga)
