Belgian Jewish museum attack suspect appears in court
BRUSSELS: An alleged French jihadist accused of returning from Syria and shooting dead four people in an attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium in central Brussels appeared in court Thursday.
Mehdi Nemmouche, allegedly the first foreign fighter to return to stage a terror attack on European soil, is charged with murder in the May 24, 2014 attack.
Since then there have been several deadly attacks in both France and Belgium by militants connected to or inspired by movements like the Islamic State group.
Belgium’s State Security intelligence agency warned last month of a possible new wave of violence from militants radicalised in prison or Middle East conflicts.
The 33-year- old confirmed his identity in the Brussels criminal court alongside his alleged accomplice, fellow French citizen 30-year- old Nacer Bendrer.
“Mehdi Nemmouche, 33, no profession,” said the young man, with a thin beard and a dark jumper, who was brought to court under tight security.
No pleas were submitted at what was a pre-trial hearing, but defence lawyer Sebastien Courtoy said Nemmouche wants, after four years in custody, “to see his innocence recognised.”
Thursday’s hearing was arranged to fi nalise the witness list before the full trial, which is due to start next month, but was the pair’s fi rst public appearance.
Between 150 and 200 witnesses will be called when the main trial gets under way after January 10.
In the attack, a man opened fi re with an assault rifle in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, killing two Israeli tourists, a French volunteer and a Belgian receptionist.
Prior to the attack, Nemmouche is said to have fought in Syria as part of a jihadist faction and is accused of acting as a jailer to kidnapped French journalists.
During the investigation he acknowledged playing a role in the anti- Semitic assault on the museum, but denied that he was the shooter.
Another suspect, caught on a security camera walking with Nemmouche by Brussels’ Gare du Nord station after the attack has never been identified.
Nemmouche was himself arrested on May 30, 2014, arriving at a bus station in the southern French city of Marseille with a bag containing several fi rearms. — AFP