A suspect has been remanded in custody in connection with the violent robbery of a Canadian MP in central Brussels on 17 February, the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Monday.
The attack took place near a shopping street in the city centre. Initially, the suspect asked the Canadian MP, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay from the city of Quebec, for the time. However, he later returned with two accomplices.
Savard-Tremblay was reportedly pushed to the ground, sprayed in the face with pepper spray, and had his watch forcibly removed.
The Prosecutor's Office was informed of the incident and referred the case to an investigating magistrate.
On 4 March, five officers from the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone spotted two men behaving suspiciously during a patrol in the city centre: the pair appeared to scrutinise pedestrians' watches and chains, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
The police decided to follow them and identified one of the men as a suspect in the 17 February assault. Both individuals were arrested – one for theft and the other for carrying pepper spray. They were then detained and placed at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office.
One suspect was presented to an investigating magistrate and formally charged with violent robbery involving threats, as part of a group, at night, using a weapon, an incapacitating substance, and an escape car. He is considered either a perpetrator or a co-perpetrator.
He appeared before a council chamber on Monday, which is set to decide whether to extend his pre-trial detention.
The investigation into other possible suspects is still ongoing.
