the federal prosecutor not favorable to a court of assizes

This is the longest trial in Belgian history: after three years and three months of investigation, it is in Brussels that justice will rule on the attacks of March 22, 2016, which caused 32 victims in the metro Brussels and Zaventem airport. The trial is of such magnitude that it will take place not at the courthouse but on the site of the former NATO buildings. We are talking about a cost of 17 million euros. But what particularly worries Frederic Van Leeuw, the federal prosecutor, is the procedure of the Assize Court. "For such a trial, it will be very complicated", he estimates this Monday morning on Morning First.

Among the difficulties, the question of guilt: "you will have to ask each juror a questionsays Frederic Van Leeuw. If we talk about 10 accused and 1000 victims, that's 10,000 questions to ask the jury!"What to spend weeks for jurors.For the federal prosecutor, it is urgent to think of reforming the principle of the Assize Court, to have" a better tool "for the trial.

Is there still time to avoid it? Frederic Van Leeuw is convinced of this. "The whole world is going to watch us for this trial, it must not be chaos," said the prosecutor. I think that deleting the jury is a procedural law, and therefore directly applicable. We must not forget that it will take a lot of resources, we will have to split the court, split the floor, it is very heavy for the judicial authorities."