Prosecution wants youth jailed for three years for burning truck in November riots

Prosecution wants youth jailed for three years for burning truck in November riots

The Office of the Public Prosecutor requested a three-year prison term, on Friday at the Brussels Criminal Court, for an 18-year-old man charged with burning a truck during riots on the 11th of November 2017 in downtown Brussels. The prosecution charged that the suspect, Nassim B. could be recognized on the security camera images. “You can see that the individual who set fire to the truck is wearing a red tracksuit,” the prosecutor said. “His face is hidden by a scarf, but on the other images, this same man wearing a red tracksuit is recognizable.”

The suspect has admitted that he was present during the riots, but denied setting fire to the vehicle. He stated, however, that he could not remember everything because he was under the influence of narcotic drugs. His counsel, Mehdi Abbes, moved to have him acquitted, stating that the video images alone were not enough to prove him guilty. The attorney requested, alternatively, community service for his client.

On the 11th of November 2017, fights broke out in the Brussels city centre where many people had gathered after Morocco qualified for the upcoming football World Cup. Some 300 people were involved in the riots, in which 23 persons were injured, 22 of them police officers. Vehicles were torched and stores plundered.

Judgement in the case against Nassim B. and Mohamed E.B., for whom the prosecution has requested a two-year prison sentence, will be handed down on the 2nd of February.


The Brussels Times


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