Morocco Father Discovers Son’s Torture Death at Brussels Trial

Ben Youness made the journey from his home, without his wife or daughter, to demand that justice strike hard. Before the court of assizes of the Belgian capital, this grieving father faces a chilling reality. During the first hearings, he brutally learned of his child’s extreme precarity and the atrocities endured before his death. "I didn’t think he was living in such conditions. [...] He suffered. He suffered greatly," he confides, devastated by the account of an execution whose terrifying details he had been unaware of.

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In the dock, Mohammad Ahmadi, Norddin Mousati and Yassine Hourra must answer for torture resulting in death without intent to cause it. The tragedy, which occurred on August 11, 2023 in the Cureghem district of Anderlecht, is part of a criminal settling of scores. The victim, caught in the grip of drugs, owed nearly 2,700 euros to his alleged "employer," Mohammad Ahmadi. Before the jury, whose heavy task will end on June 22, the three accused shift responsibility to each other, claiming innocence of the fatal blows.

Otmane’s ordeal unfolded in two stages, beginning in the middle of the street. On the afternoon of August 10, several employees of a betting establishment witness a lynching. The victim takes blows to the face and ribs with unprecedented violence, becoming a veritable "punching bag" unable to defend himself. The media Sudinfo specifies that this first phase of public assault ended when the trio left the scene, leaving the man paralyzed with a bloodied face.

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The unspeakable then continued behind closed doors, away from surveillance cameras that simply captured the group’s entry into a building on Chaussée de Mons around 2:15 a.m. A few hours later, emergency services attempt in vain to resuscitate the victim, who dies in the emergency room of Saint-Pierre Hospital. The autopsy reveals the extent of the massacre: skull contusions caused by a bat, massive internal hemorrhage, marks from sharp objects and traces of restraints on the wrists. Investigators even uncovered horrifying video footage where one of the suspects, demanding his money, incites his dog to bite the victim’s arm while mentioning "kidnapping."