During the trial of the 2016 Brussels terror attacks, the acquittal of one of the men on trial has been asked due to a lack of evidence against him. Unexpectedly, the request did not come from the accused's lawyer, but from the Public Prosecutor.
The Public Prosecutors' pleas ended on Tuesday with the evidence against brothers Smail and Ibrahim Farisi. Smail was on trial for subletting his apartment in Etterbeek to Ibrahim El Bakraoui – one of the later suicide bombers at Brussels Airport Zaventem, where 16 of the 32 victims died.
After the attacks, Smail also cleaned the apartment, together with his brother Ibrahim. Reason enough for the Federal Prosecutor's Office initially to prosecute Smail for membership of a terrorist group and for complicity in the attacks. Ibrahim, however, was only prosecuted for membership in a terrorist group.
As the trial progressed, however, it became clear to the Public Prosecutors that the evidence against the brothers was less weighty than it initially seemed. Therefore, they are now asking for the full acquittal of Ibrahim Farisi. "There is no conclusive evidence that he was aware that terrorists were staying in the apartment that he and his brother were cleaning," said prosecutor Paule Somers in her plea.
Intellectual honesty
For Smail Farisi, the Prosecutor's Office is partially dropping the charges. "It is clear that he knew that his apartment was being used by a terrorist group. Perhaps not immediately when he started subletting it in October 2015, but it must have become clear to him in the following months," said prosecutor Bernard Michel.
"It should have been clear to any normal, intelligent person what was going on. That is why we ask that he be convicted as a member of a terrorist group," he added. "However, it has not been proven that he knew that group was about to carry out an attack. Therefore, we seek acquittal for complicity in terrorist murder, and for complicity in attempted terrorist murder."
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For lawyer Nina Van Eeckhaut, who represents the widow of one of the victims at the trial, the prosecutors' question makes sense: "I think they are being intellectually honest and also showing the jury that they do not necessarily want the skin of every accused. They have listened to what the police and the other witnesses have told here in recent months, and have judged that there is insufficient evidence."
For the eight other accused, the Prosecutor's Office asked to convict them for membership of a terrorist group and for their involvement in the attacks, meaning they risk life imprisonment.
Until next week Wednesday, it is up to the lawyers of the victims to hold their pleas. After that, it is the defence's turn. A ruling is expected in July.
