Brussels metro attacker 'doesn't remember anything': lawyer

Brussels metro attacker 'doesn't remember anything': lawyer
Credit: Belga

The man who pushed a woman off a Brussels metro platform "has no recollection of what happened," his lawyer told an inconclusive court hearing as he faces a charge of attempted murder.

Kasongo Mukendi said his client, a 23-year-old Frenchman who is being held without bail, "was very shocked when he was told of the events" of last Friday, when CCTV footage identified him as shoving the woman in front of an incoming subway car, Belgium's national news agency reported.

The Crown Prosecutor pursued a full criminal trial, and a decision from the court, which acts as a judicial clearing house in the Belgian legal system, remains pending.

A statement from the public prosecutor's office said simply: "The suspect has been interrogated by the investigating magistrate and placed under an arrest warrant on the charge of attempted murder.

"The magistrate has appointed a psychiatric expert in order to verify the suspect's state (of mind).

"In the interests of the investigation, the Crown Prosecutor's office will make no further comment."

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The victim – a 55 year-old woman – suffered a broken shoulder but survived thanks to quick reflexes from the train driver, who has been lauded as a hero on local social media.

Meanwhile, the metro employee who first circulated the transit authority footage that led to the suspect's swift capture has now been suspended and faces disciplinary proceedings, Belgian tabloid SudPresse reported.


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