Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Belgian government did not yield to the pressures and voices that demanded its resignation following the earthquake caused by the Tunisian Abdel Salam Al-Aswad. An earthquake that almost shook the current Belgian government, but the matter ended with the resignation of Justice Minister Vincent Kueckenborn. In the aftermath of that, political and party voices demanded the resignation of the entire government, but the Belgian Prime Minister Following an emergency government meeting, several measures were announced yesterday evening, Saturday, to avoid mistakes in the approach of the judiciary and police.
This came after the resigned Minister of Justice announced that there was a judicial error that caused the failure to respond to a request submitted by the authorities in Tunisia in the middle of last year to extradite Abdul Salam Al-Aswad, who was wanted to implement judicial rulings in his country, Tunisia. Al-Aswad was living in Belgium without legal residency papers, and the Belgian authorities had previously refused. An application he submitted for asylum, and last week he carried out an attack using a firearm targeting a number of Swedish fans who were on their way to watch a football match between Belgium and Sweden that was held in Brussels. The attack resulted in the killing of two Swedes and the attacker.
The government held an emergency meeting on Saturday and at the press conference, the media in Brussels said that the government is continuing its work and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo proposed five action points that would help avoid mistakes in the approach of the judiciary and the police:
1. The entire framework of the Brussels Prosecutor's Office will be supplemented and expanded with five additional judges, De Croo reports. “Legal arrangements are being made through which the Public Prosecutor can be appointed. In addition, the Public Prosecutor has agreed to strengthen the day-to-day management in Brussels in cooperation with the existing team.”

2. As a second point, De Croo stated that “the Federal Judicial Police in Brussels will be reinforced by fifty people. The needs in Brussels are great. The railway police will also be reinforced by 25 people.”

3. De Croo confirmed that there is a “particularly large amount” of information about the attacker Abdel Salam Al-Aswad and his behaviour. “I would like the I Committee and the P Committee to evaluate the current procedures.

4. De Croo said that information exchange between the Immigration and Justice Office and the police must be strengthened. “They should make better use of the information available.”

5. Finally create a database of all people who have been ordered to leave the area. “This information will be linked to information received from the police,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister De Croo said: “When we are under pressure, we make the necessary investments.”