The policeman from the Brussels-North zone arrested on Monday for violating professional secrecy and passive corruption had been in contact with Yassine Atar, brother of Oussama Atar, one of the main suspects in the 22nd of March terror attacks in Brussels, the VRT radio and TV channel reported on Thursday. The policeman, a former employee of the Stib public transport company, worked in the dispatching section of the police’s North zone - Schaerbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse. He had been under investigation by the P. Committee for weeks, Dernière Heure and Het Laatste Nieuws newspapers reported.
According to the VRT, the policeman had been in contact via WhatsApp with Yassine Atar, whose brother, Oussama, is suspected of masterminding the 22nd of March attacks. The Atar brothers are also cousins of the El Bakraoui brothers, who conducted the suicide attacks in Zaventem and Maelbeek.
The contact with Atar reportedly started before the attacks. However, the content of the conversations remains unknown. The Office of the Public Prosecutor has not made any comment on the matter.
The Brussels Times
