Four Palestinians between the ages of 19 and 24 were charged * with hostage-taking and murder, and later imprisoned in Belgium on the day after the discovery of the body of a 9-year-old Palestinian child in an asylum seekers' center, announced the parquet floor of Antwerp. Kristof Aerts, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, confirmed press reports that the five suspects arrested Wednesday are all Palestinians. Four were presented to the investigating judge in charge of the case on Thursday and the fifth should be presented in the evening.
A death deemed "suspect"
The 9-year-old boy, who had been staying with his 26-year-old mother for a few months in this center in Ranst in the Antwerp region, was last seen alive while riding a bike around 10pm on Monday. center enclosure. A search operation was initiated when the bike was found without any trace of the child and finally led to the discovery of his lifeless body in a ditch on the grounds of the reception center Wednesday afternoon. The death was deemed "suspicious" by the Antwerp public prosecutor's office who entrusted to an investigating judge an investigation into murder.
Ransom demand?
Thursday after the appearance before the judge of the first suspects, the facts were requalified in "taking hostage and murder", said the floor in a statement. According to Flemish media, it could be an attempt at extortion that went wrong. The daily Het Laatste Nieuws reported an SMS received by the aunt of the child, residing in the same center, threatening it like this: "100,000 euros or you will not see Daniel living again". The prosecution has not confirmed this information. According to a source close to the investigation, the statements of the suspects in front of the investigators "are not clear". None of them at this stage recognize the charges.
* The term 'indictment / defendant' no longer exists in French judicial proceedings but is still used in Belgium / in the United States / ... Europe1.fr has chosen to keep the term used by the local judicial authorities.