Mehdi Nemmouche, the main suspect of the attack on the Musée Juif de Bruxelles (Brussels Jewish Museum) appeared before the court in chambers on Thursday. The court extended his custody by three months, the Federal Prosecutor's Office has stated. The two other suspects in this case, Nacer Bendrer and Mounir Atallah, also remain in custody. On May 24th 2014, four people lost their lives during this attack. A week later, Mehdi Nemmouche was then arrested for questioning in Marseilles. He was in possession of weapons similar to those used in the Brussels attack, ammunition and a flag of the self-styled Islamic State organisation.
Up until now, Mehdi Nemmouche has said nothing to Belgian police and his lawyers say that there is no irrefutable evidence against him but both the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal and the court in chambers have ruled to extend his custody.
A second suspect, Nacer Bendrer had also been arrested for questioning in Marseilles in December 2014. He had shared a cell with Nemmouche and had been in close contact with him in the weeks leading up to the attack on the Jewish Museum.
The third individual Mounir Atallah, was handed over to the state of Belgium on July 1st 2015. He had met Nemmouche in Marseilles in April 2014.
A year ago, a wanted notice was issued relating to a fourth man who is reported to have been filmed in Nemmouche's company a few days after the attack. He has not been identified.
(Source: Belga)
