Brussels attack: Belgian justice minister resigns, says he sought extradition of killer

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced his resignation on Friday (Oct 20), four days after a Tunisian migrant living illegally in the country killed two Swedes in Brussels. Addressing a press conference, Quickenborne said he sought Abdesalem Lassoued's extradition last yearand it had not been followed up. Lassoued, 45, shot dead two Swedish football fans and wounded another on Monday. A day later, he was shot dead by police in a cafe.

"It's an individual, monumental and unacceptable error," Justice Minister Quickenborne told reporters as he announced his resignation.

Authorities said initial indications were thatLassoued was working as a lone wolf, rather than as part of a broad network. In a video claiming responsibility for the attack, the attacker said he was a member of the Islamic State and gave his name as Abdesalem Al Guilani. However, Belgian state broadcaster RTBF named him Abdesalem Lassoued.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

On Tuesday, Quicken said that Lassoued was known to police and suspected of offences, including human trafficking and illegal residence. In 2016, a foreign police service passed on an unconfirmed report that the man had a "radicalised profile" and wanted to go to a war zone to wage jihad, he added.

The now-resigned minister also pointed out that authorities received a tip that the attacker was convicted of terrorism in Tunisia but the information proved to be false as the man had only been convicted of common law offences.

After Lassoued's asylum was denied three years back, Belgian authorities said he "disappeared from the radar" before an expulsion order in March 2021 that was not carried out.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said he was not among some 700 people on Belgium's terror watch list and had not stayed at an asylum-seekers centre, making it more difficult to track and expel him.

"The illegal Tunisian man lived here below the water line and yesterday he struck in a cowardly way towards our society from below the water line," Prime Minister De Croo added.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.