Belgium's justice minister announces resignation after deadly Brussels shooting
Oct 21, 2023
Brussels [Belgium], October 21: Belgian Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne on Friday announced his resignation, admitting his ministry committed an "unacceptable" error concerning the gunman who shot dead two Swedes this week in central Brussels.
At a new conference, the minister said he found an error within the system of the judicial services on Friday morning, which suggested a failure in handling the information concerning the perpetrator of the Brussels attack on Monday.
"On Aug. 15, 2022, an extradition request from Tunisia was made for this individual. This request was duly transmitted on Sept. 1 by the justice expert to the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office. But the magistrate did not follow up on this extradition request, and the case was not processed. It is an individual error, a monumental error, unacceptable, with dramatic consequences," he said.
The minister said he must assume the responsibility for this unacceptable error.
On Monday, the perpetrator of Tunisian origin killed two Swedish soccer fans and injured one person. After an over-night fleeing, he was shot dead by police on Tuesday morning.
Van Quickenborne has been Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister of justice and the North Sea since October 2020.
Source: Xinhua
