On Monday, 23-year-old Houssien E.’s lawyers filed a motion to reopen the hearings in the trial of banned Islamist group Sharia4Belgium, Press magistrate Fabienne Nackaerts has pointed out. She thus confirmed the information published last Tuesday in Belgian newspapers Gazet van Antwerpen, Het Nieuwsblad, De Standaard and Het Laatste Nieuws.
The request came after Dimitri Bontinck’s statements were released to the media. He is the father of Jejoen Bontick, the former Belgian fighter who went to fight in Syria. Last Sunday, he declared that his son, who had just been arrested at Brussels airport, would be willing to withdraw his confession on Sharia4Belgium. However, Jejoen Bontick’s true intentions remain unknown.
Houssien E. was supposedly shot in Syria. His lawyers consider Bontinck’s father’s allegations justified filing a motion to reopen the proceedings on Monday.
The Antwerp Criminal Court is expected to deliver, on January 14th, its verdict in the trial of extremist Islamic group Sharia4Belgium, charged with terrorism offences. 45 defendants appeared before the Court.
(Source: Belga)
