In order to give priority to "real first-time arrivals" during the winter months, Maggie De Block, Belgian Minister of Asylum and Migration, has launched two new measures. These aim to block the path for asylum seekers who cheat with the procedure as defined within the European Union.
Moroccan international Mehdi Carcela is one of the players that former Atlas Lions coach Eric Gerets closely follows at Standard Liège. The former captain of the Reds and Whites gave his opinion on the Carcela enigma at this club.
Fouad Akrich, a 27-year-old Moroccan jihadist, was arrested with his wife and children in Turkey. The arrest of this young man, who is one of the six Moroccan fighters stripped of their Belgian nationality for terrorism, is widely reported in the Belgian press.
The Al-Ihsaan mosque in Leuven (Flemish Brabant) was the target of an act of vandalism on the night of December 31 to January 1.
Six Belgo-Moroccan fighters, who went to Syria, have lost their Belgian nationality. This decision follows legal proceedings initiated against them.
Khadija and Mohamed Jellal have been waiting since 2011 to know the causes of the death of Imane, their 14-year-old daughter, who died under unresolved circumstances due to the paralysis of the judicial procedure initiated. The forensic pathologist, whose report is eagerly awaited by the investigating judge in charge of the case, has remained unreachable for several years.
Fatima B., one of the two sisters convicted by a Belgian court, while they were in Syria, has decided not to appeal her conviction anymore. She accepts to serve five years in prison for participation in the activities of the terrorist group Islamic State , while her sister, Rahma B., convicted on the same charges, maintains her appeal which will be examined in March by the Antwerp Criminal Court.
The number of forced marriages in Belgium has almost tripled, from 10 in 2015 to 27 in 2018. Five new cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
The first imams, from the training program initiated for future spiritual guides in February 2019 at KU Leuven, will obtain their degrees in six years.
Belgian Interior Minister Pieter De Crem is concerned about a "significant increase in individuals and small cells of the far-right movement who legitimize the use of violence." These extremists would even be ready to take more violent actions.
Fouad Dian, 33, detained since 2015 in Belgium and Haudainville, was finally arrested in May in the Bordeaux region. At the Verdun court, the judge decided to keep him in prison until April 2024.
A migrant was violently hit by a vehicle that fled the scene. This happened during the night from Friday to Saturday on the highway at the Bourgambray rest area in Belgium.