The federal police have launched a search for Rutger Van den Brande, a 41-year-old fugitive who escaped after attending a court hearing in Antwerp.
Van den Brande, listed among the “Most Wanted,” is subject to three ongoing detention orders for attempted murder, rape, acts of torture, aggravated robbery as part of a group, and rebellion.
He had been granted permission to attend a hearing concerning compensation for one of his victims, a woman he seriously injured and raped in 2020. In 2022, he was convicted of attempted murder and rape but was interned in a forensic psychiatric facility due to his mental health condition.
Last Thursday, at around 11:30, he fled on foot from the parking area of the Forensic Psychiatric Centre on Hurstweg in Ghent after returning from the courthouse.
Van den Brande is described as 1.77 metres tall with a slim build, black hair, a moustache, a tongue piercing, and a tattoo on his right forearm.
According to a VRT report, the man has been arrested in Edegem shortly after his escape.
At the time of his escape, he was wearing a grey hoodie with blue letters, blue jeans, black trainers, and possibly a black jacket.
