Belgium – 2016 attacks: Five defendants left the courtroom protesting their transport conditions

Third day today of the trial for the terrorist attacks at Brussels airport and Malbec metro station in March 2016. Five of the defendants walked out of the courtroom complaining about their transportation conditions.

In addition to Frenchman Salah Abdeslam, Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini, Swedish Osama Krajem and Tunisian Sofian Aghiari, all already convicted in France for their involvement in the November 13 attacks in Paris, left the courtroom, rtl reported. At the beginning of the hearing El Hadad Assoufy asked to speak and said he felt “humiliated”, rtbf notes.

“All we want is to talk, all we want is to defend ourselves,” said Ali El Haddad Assoufy, while the defendants standing next to him they got up and left without saying a wordaccording to APE-MPE, which refers to rtl.

Asoufi added that “everything is done to keep us quiet (…) everything is done to break us psychologically”, “if no one speaks, there can be no trial“, while he denounced the conduct of a “political trial”. Ali El Haddad Assoufi is accused of providing logistical support to the perpetrators of the attacks.