Mons: A Moroccan faces Belgian justice for killing his neighbor

The tragedy unfolded on July 3, 2022, around 9:30 p.m. Faysel Amzaourou was reproaching his upstairs neighbor, Abdealli Hadjem, for noise disturbances preventing his children from sleeping. The tension, fueled by grievances related to the presence of individuals in the building with illegal residency, quickly escalated from verbal insults to physical confrontation with pots and pans, reports SudInfo.

The brawl continued in the street where the two men threw paving stones collected from a construction site. During a brief physical struggle, Abdealli Hadjem received a single 12-centimeter deep knife wound, hitting the heart and lungs. Before succumbing on the sidewalk, the victim reportedly shouted in Arabic: "You killed me, I’m going to die."

After the incident, the accused fled by taxi to the home of his ex-wife to change clothes. Remaining untraceable for ten days, he eventually surrendered to the police. Placed under electronic surveillance for a time, Faysel Amzaourou had escaped before being reincarcerated. He now claims he only picked up the weapon that his opponent had dropped.

The trial will have to shed light on the profiles of these two men. Faysel, originally from Morocco, led a complex dual family life, while the victim, a 44-year-old Algerian from a wealthy family, lived in the precariousness of the Charleroi underworld. The Assize Court now has several days to determine the exact responsibility of the accused.