Belgium begins largest 'terrorism' trial

Written by Super User 04 Oct 2014

Belgian prosecutors have begun the country's biggest-ever terrorism trial, accusing 46 men of being members of a terrorist organisation that indoctrinated young men to fight in Syria. Nine of those charged were present in court in Antwerp on Monday, including the alleged ringleader Fouad Belkacem. The others were allegedly still in Syria, with many possibly dead in the fighting there. Prosecutors said the accused belonged to Sharia4Belgium, a group disbanded two years ago, which prosecutors say was led by the 32-year-old Belkacem. The court heard that members approached young men and a few teenage women in Antwerp and Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, to invite them to their centre in Antwerp where they were indoctrinated and readied for their trip to Syria. ‘The clear aim was to prepare them for armed combat,’  Luc Festraets, a prosecutor, told the court.

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