The Brussels Court of Appeal on Monday ordered Belgian police to stop kneeling daily searches of defendants imprisoned in connection with the 2016 attacks in Brussels.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal affirmed that there was no legal basis for the kneeling imposed on defendants during searches carried out by judicial police officers during their transfer from prison to court.
Its text states that the court "orders the Belgian state to put an end to this practice".
It also considered that "the systematic practice of body searches with kneeling (...) constitutes degrading treatment" and is prohibited by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The court determined the imposition of a "fine of one thousand euros" on the state for each violation and complaint, unless this practice ceased no later than the ninth day after the notification of the verdict.
In this case, in which the trial is expected to continue until next summer, 9 defendants are represented for their involvement to varying degrees in these attacks. As for the tenth defendant, he is being tried in absentia, as it is believed that he was killed in Syria.
Six of the defendants, including Salah Abdel Salam and his childhood friend Mohamed Abrini, complained of humiliating treatment due to searches that required them to kneel daily to ensure they were not hiding any dangerous items.
Salah Abdel Salam also refused to appear in court until the practice stopped.
On the morning of March 22, 2016, two people blew themselves up at Zaventem Airport in Brussels and another one an hour later at a metro station in the Belgian capital.
The outcome was 32 dead and hundreds wounded.
The Islamic State claimed these attacks.