The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, presented his resignation this Friday at a press conference organized in the presence of the Attorney General of Brussels, Johan Delmulle. His departure comes after information published this morning, which indicated that on August 15 of last year, Tunisia requested the extradition of Abdesalem Lassoued, the jihadist terrorist who last Monday killed two Swedish citizens and injured a third after declaring his loyalty to the Islamic State. But a magistrate, the person responsible, did not process the request, which ended in a tragedy for which he now assumes political responsibilities.
In a few days it became known that Lassoued arrived in Europe, via Lampedusa, in 2011, and that he had been in the EU irregularly since then. First in Italy, then in Sweden, where he spent two years in prison, and finally in Belgium. Here they knew since 2016, from reports from intelligence services from other countries, that he was dangerous and had become radicalized, threatening to kill another person in a reception center. He was on the radar and set off alarm bells, but Belgium didn’t do much to locate him. Not even when the man presented the papers in one of the communes of Brussels to register.
“It is an individual, monumental and unacceptable error,” said the minister, assuming with his resignation the political responsibilities of the Ministry and the Government. Van Quickenborne had been on the tightrope for months and had exhausted his political capital. Except for the miracle position after a major political scandal occurred, especially in Flanders, known as the “pipigate”, when images were leaked of several guests at his 50th birthday party urinating while laughing in the patrol car parked next to his living place.
The security forces, who have experienced several incidents with Flemish politicians in recent months, complained of a lack of respect. The Police were there to escort the politician after he received death threats last year that were considered very credible, from international trafficking gangs, those who control the ports through which the bulk of Central Europe’s cuisine enters.
“From the beginning, my team and I gathered all the details of this case to clarify any errors that may have been made (…) This morning at 9 a.m. I was able to verify the following elements: August 15, 2022 There was an extradition request from Tunisia for this man. This request was transmitted on September 1, as it should have been, by the legal expert to the Brussels prosecutor’s office. The competent magistrate did not respond to this extradition request and the file was not processed “This is an individual error. A monumental error. An unacceptable error. An error with dramatic consequences,” the minister said in statements reported by the newspaper Le Soir.
“The independence of a judge is the basis of our rule of law. I have always defended this principle and I will continue to defend it. As Minister of Justice I cannot in any way interfere in the decisions of a judge. Although it is the job of a judge individual and independent, I want to take responsibility for this unacceptable mistake. I am not looking for any pretext at all. I am not looking for excuses. I feel that it is my duty to do so” he added.
In 2022, a total of 31 international extradition requests were transmitted to this magistrate. Thirty of them were prosecuted, but the only one that was not, Van Quickenborne said, was that of the terrorist. “A regrettable combination of circumstances has occurred,” prosecutor Johan Delmulle lamented alongside him.
The minister had been questioned a lot but in the Belgian political class there are doubts that he is ultimately responsible for what happened. However, in 2016, Belgium already endured harsh criticism, inside and outside the country, for the functioning of its security and intelligence services, for the errors of the Police, the Prosecutor’s Office and the courts. Due to errors, the permissiveness of the system or regulations that prevented, for example, raids after 9:00 p.m., even in cases of extreme seriousness. With his decision he wants to settle the controversy and avoid the anxiety of the Government, since these days speculation has already begun about the survival of the so-called Vivaldi Coalition, which brings together seven parties from both linguistic communities and all types of political lines, from socialists to liberals through environmentalists and Dutch Christian democrats.
“This new information from the Prosecutor’s Office touches my heart, because I have done everything possible to improve our Justice system. I conveyed this information to the Prime Minister and informed him that I would be resigning as Minister of Justice. I sincerely want to apologize on behalf of Justice to the victims and their loved ones. I would also like to apologize on behalf of Justice to the Swedish people and our fellow citizens,” he said goodbye.
