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Saturday, August 27, 2022

Belgium: Driver Charged With Attempted Manslaughter

 Belgian newspapers are reporting today that the man (Muhammed G.) who injured 6 people by ramming his car through some outdoor tables on a narrow Brussels street yesterday has been charged with attempted manslaughter. Without knowing anything about Belgian law, that would suggest to me a degree of deliberate conduct.

As to motive, the prosecutor's office is still investigating all possibilities, but one of those (according to prosecutors) is that the driver may have been frustrated with Brussels' narrow streets and the traffic, thus a possible road rage explanation. As to his reported shouts of, "Allahu Akbar", authorities (someone at least) has said that rather than it being a battle cry, it just may have been an expression of frustration, or that he may have lost control of the car. 

Below is a translation (Fousesquawk) of today's sub-headline in De Morgen.

M.G., the 28-year-old man from Sint-Joost-ten-Node, who drove his car into a terrace (outdoor tables) Friday in Brussels, has been ordered into custody by an investigating judge and charged with attempted manslaughter. That is reported by the Brussels Prosecutor's Office. The Prosecutor's Office is giving no further details about the investigation for now.

Robby Dierickx, 27 August 2022  17:02.


And this segment from De Standaard:

In the investigation, "all avenues are open". But the possibility of a terrorist act is taken less into account.

The 28-year-old M.G.- as the suspect is identified, is known to the courts but not due to extremism. According to Het Nieuwsblad (newspaper), the man was recently hired as a driver by a Brussels company. The investigators would assume (from that) that he made his life-threatening maneuver after he was stuck in the narrow Brussels streets.




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