Belgian Court Acquits Moroccan Man in 2012 Schaerbeek Parking Lot Murder Case

The events had taken place on the night of April 11, 2012 in the Colruyt parking lot. Nabil S. had contacted his accomplice Soufyan I. by phone, who had joined him. Together, the two defendants had planned to extort money from Mohamed Hammas. The latter had just won 25,000 euros or 5,000 euros in gambling. As he was returning home, the two murderers attacked the victim who was nevertheless the friend of Nabil. Mohamed resisted but ended up falling under the bullets of his killers. He was hit in the chest.

The two murderers were brought to justice. The prosecution had requested respective sentences of 15 and 18 years in prison against Nabil S. and Soufyan I., both accused of having orchestrated an ambush in order to rob Mohamed Hammas, reports La Dernière Heure. The Moroccan will not serve this sentence. The doubt benefited him, and he was sentenced to only three years in prison with a total suspended sentence. His accomplice was not so lucky. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison instead of 18.

Nabil S. has always flatly rejected the accusations. In their pleadings, his lawyers Sven Mary and Samira Bouyid had highlighted the reasonable time and the remaining doubt in this case. Mr. Mary says he is "happy with the result. This proves that there are still judges for whom the principle of doubt is respected. When there is doubt, it must be beneficial to the accused."