Could the recent terrorist attack in Belgium have been prevented? As early as August 2022, there was apparently an extradition request from Tunisia that was not processed. Belgium’s Minister of Justice is now drawing conclusions.
Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has resigned four days ago following criticism of his work in connection with the attack on two Swedish football fans. Van Quickenborne spoke of a “huge mistake”. That’s why he submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
On Monday, a 45-year-old Tunisian killed the two football fans in the Belgian capital Brussels. The perpetrator was initially able to escape, but on Tuesday he was tracked down and shot by the Belgian police. The investigation revealed that the Belgian judicial authorities ignored a request from Tunisia to extradite him in August 2022. “I want to take full political responsibility for this,” Van Quickenborne added.
Only unprocessed application
It initially remained unclear why the extradition request was not processed by the judge. According to the judiciary, 31 international extradition requests were handed to this judge last year. 30 he worked on, except that of the later assassin. According to Italian authorities, it had been known since 2016 that he was an Islamist.
The shooter was targeting the Swedes who were in Brussels to watch a European Championship qualifier between Belgium and Sweden. The game was canceled because of the attack. The Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the crime. De Croo described the attack as a “brutal terrorist attack.”