Brussels Terror Trial: Court Orders Removal of Controversial Defendant Boxes

Surrounded by glass, the boxes isolate the accused from their lawyers and force the latter to speak to them only via telephone. For the President of the Court, in their current configuration, these boxes "violate Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms". She ordered their dismantling, specifying "that it is up to the executive branch to decide how it will rebuild these boxes". She adds that "no one denies the right of the civil parties to be safe and respected". But for the magistrate, the Justitia building where the trial will take place, which is "of the bunker type, and located on a military site", with "strict controls at the entrance" and "regular police patrols inside" is a sufficient guarantee of security, reports bx1.

The Court’s decision is a relief for the defense, who did not see themselves evolving in such an environment. For Me Vincent Lurquin, lawyer for Bayingana Muhirwa, Article 6 is the very principle of a fair trial. "Each of the actors must have the same strength in what they say, in the way they speak. For the lawyers, it would be extremely difficult to communicate with the accused with boxes designed in this way".

Since last Monday, the issue of dismantling the boxes has been unanimously raised by the defense lawyers, disrupting the preliminary hearing. For Me Stanislas Eskenazi, lawyer for Mohamed Aboukhlal, this decision is a victory. "I am delighted to live in a state of law. I am delighted to show that in our country, the executive branch does not do what it wants, and that the judicial power is there to remind it of the law." Same reaction from Me Sébastien Courtoy, lawyer for Smail Farisi, happy to know that the issue has been resolved. "Second monumental slap for the federal prosecutor’s office. These little torture toys have been declared non-compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights".

For Maryse Alié, lawyer for civil parties, the important thing is that the trial really starts and that the accused can speak freely, provide answers to the victims who have been waiting for years to know why all this carnage. "What seemed important to us is that the accused be in better conditions to speak. If they don’t come, if they refuse to speak because they feel the conditions are contrary to their rights, it won’t serve the victims who are waiting for answers to their questions".

The State has only about twenty days to "arrange these boxes in an acceptable manner", for example by copying the model used during the Paris attacks trial. It is a "single box with a glass strip in the front, with a police presence alongside the accused". The President of the Court also felt that "this type of configuration, in place of the current compartmentalized and completely closed boxes, would be likely to better respect the rights of the defense".

The federal public service takes note of the decision while considering that "the current tailor-made solution is the result of several years of reflection and consultation both with the multi-service provider and with the partners concerned in terms of security and legal requirements". It promises to work in collaboration with the latter to find the solution, "because different parameters have to be taken into account". Whatever the solution, it must be found before October 10, the date of the jury composition, even if the prosecution mentions some difficulties related to the budget and the time that an adjustment of the boxes could require.