Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- The Brussels Court of Assizes has set the calendar for the first two months of the trial of the attacks of 22 March 2016 in Brussels and Zaventem. That will start on December 5, after the jury is assembled on November 30. Interrogation of the accused is scheduled to start on December 19.
According to BRUZZ, In the file on the terrorist attacks of March 22, 2016, ten people have to answer to the Brussels assize court. One of them, Oussama Atar, is believed to have died, so only nine accused will be present.
On the first day of the hearing, Monday 5 December, the court will verify the identities of all parties and the chairman will provide the necessary explanations to the jury and the parties. On Tuesday, the federal prosecutor can then start reading its 500-page indictment. On Monday December 12, the lawyers of the accused will speak for their possible defence. Monday and Tuesday is also time for clarifying the subject of the charge or defence, and for the civil partisan statements.
The session will be adjourned from Wednesday 13 December to Friday 16 December because a European summit is taking place in Brussels. From Monday 19 December, the court will then start questioning the nine accused. A new European summit will take place on Friday, December 23, and again there will be no session, only resumed on Tuesday, January 3, with the interrogation of the accused. It would last until Thursday, January 12.
On Monday, January 16, the court will begin the witness hearing with an expert on the geopolitical context in which the attacks took place and three experts on radicalisation. Three experts will then speak about the medical and psychological consequences of the attacks for the victims.
The focus then shifts to the attack at Brussels Airport, in which members of the emergency services will first be heard, followed by about forty people injured there, as well as relatives and relatives of the deceased victims. The same will happen for the attack in the Maelbeek metro station. According to the current calendar, the court hopes to have heard all of them before Friday, February 3.
