Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The Criminal Court in Brussels resumed its sessions in the case of the March 2016 bombings that struck the Belgian capital, specifically at Brussels Airport and one of the internal train stations, and the attack killed 32 people and injured 300 others. Jean-Pierre Devos of the airport police in Zaventem, Brussels, was the first to speak. He said a safety exercise was scheduled for that day with El Al Airlines. They will practice how to respond in the event of an attack. But at 7:58 in the morning, a strange explosion suddenly appeared. Twenty seconds later there was already the second "With the attacks in Paris in mind, it immediately became clear to me that it was an attack."
On his way to the departure lounge, he encountered “outside tourists.” The people were watching and taking pictures. I worked there for three years. I still remember the smell and the fire. The alarm caused a sensation. And there were the victims who called for help.. There was a woman on the floor, her skirt still on. I remember trying to put it out."
“An eerie silence with the screams of the victims everywhere.” Officer DeVos showed the jury a video of a taxi driver looking for his son. "These are pictures that show what we saw that day."
You can hear the victims screaming and groaning in the background as the man panics as he walks through the destroyed departure hall, past the distraught victims, calling out his son's name.
Then there are the images of how police officers and firefighters try to remove the destroyed parts of the walls and ceiling with their bare hands, in order to free the victims.
“In the toilets I found a boy of about 10 years old. He was not hurt, but he is in complete shock. It was important to find his parents. Moreover, we had to get people out as soon as possible. But that was difficult because of the devastation there. The ceilings would have collapsed and there would have been many casualties.” However, we were able to get everyone out very quickly. Shortly after 12 o'clock a colleague reported that there were three attackers and that there might still be a bomb in the building. This was a signal to evacuate the entire place. Together with the demining service DOVO, the bomb was found and then detonated in a controlled manner shortly before 2pm.. "It was only later in the afternoon that it became clear to him that a bomb had exploded elsewhere, at the Malbec metro station." .
Finally he came home at 10 pm that day. "My wife and daughter were still up. My 14-year-old daughter didn't want to sleep in her bed that night. She was sleeping in the hallway in front of my bedroom door. To stop me if I wanted to leave again the next day."

Military personnel are allowed to shoot

Then the army battalion commander spoke at the airport as a witness and initially said he was on mission in Mali with his battalion in 2015-2016. "When we came back in February 2016, the country had changed. There were attacks in France. We witnessed that. But we noticed that people here became more anxious and alert," he said.
On that day, March 22, she was in charge of guarding the airport terminal. And the most difficult place for him was the departure hall, "where there is always a little chaos." He works constantly with 14 soldiers. After hearing the explosion, she "shouted" to take up arms. And I allowed my men to arm their weapons and use them if necessary.”
At the beginning of the hearing, Chief Justice Lawrence Massart outlined the new agenda. It is clear from it that the testimonies of the victims must change over time. Normally they would start on January 16th, but now that has been moved to February 13th. There is room for certificates until March 9th.
Until the end of January, the floor was given to the magistrate and investigators. In this way, Masar can also postpone the questioning of the accused until a ruling is made on the legality of the security measures.
Then the names of the civil parties were read out. Those who later wish to testify under oath may not remain in the Hall now that the actual testimony has commenced..
The number of victims present has dropped sharply in recent days. Only a few dozen out of more than 1,000 civil parties are still pursuing proceedings in court
A final message to the jury.

The presiding officer explained to the jurors that they had the right to speak. They are allowed to ask questions during the sessions. The judge said she would be asking a lot of questions herself, but she did have a warning for the jury. "You must not betray your opinion in your questions. So watch your wording. If I feel you are going in the wrong direction with your question, I will stop you."

The oath is taken by at least three magistrates and dozens of police, military and firefighters. Not all of them are still working. Some of them retired or got another job. However, they are often expected to be in the courtroom for hearings in the coming weeks.