Six years and eight months after the deadliest attack on Belgian soil, the Brussels attack case is finally moving toward judgment. The trial of the defendants, linked to the events that killed 32 people and injured more than 300 during two coordinated assaults at Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station, began in the heart of the European Union. The court will decide guilt or innocence with a system that uses a popular jury, composed of twelve voting members and twenty-four substitutes. Their verdict will determine each defendant’s fate.
Among the defendants, Salah Abdeslam stands out as the lone survivor from the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 dead and hundreds more injured. Abdeslam has already received a life sentence in France. The tenth defendant, Oussama Atar, died in Syria in 2017 and is being tried in absentia due to lack of conclusive proof confirming his death. Other defendants face charges of terrorist murder while at least one has been connected to plotting or participating in terrorist activities. The case encompasses a range of roles in the broader network and different levels of involvement.
Belgium chose a system with a popular jury instead of professional judges, differing from the French approach. The start of the trial was delayed by two months because of issues with the courtroom setup intended to ensure a fair process. Although nearly a thousand potential jurors were shortlisted, attendance is expected to be around seven hundred on the opening day, with roughly three hundred excused due to concerns about their availability.
To serve as a juror, candidates must be between 28 and 65 years old, registered on the electoral rolls, and have a clean public record. They must also be fluent in French, since the proceedings will be conducted in that language. Officials expect as many as six hundred people to show up at the court facility located at the former NATO headquarters for summons and screening.
All names will be kept confidential during the selection process. A ballot will ultimately determine the twelve jurors and the twenty-four substitutes who must attend sessions and participate in deliberations. Of the dozen individuals who will judge the facts, no fewer than eight should be of a single gender. Both prosecutors and defense teams may challenge up to eighteen candidates without the need to provide reasons. Jurors will be required to maintain confidentiality during proceedings and abstain from forming opinions until deliberations begin behind closed doors. The trial will involve testimony from more than 350 experts and will feature victims and their families, with hearings expected to extend over six to nine months starting in early December. Citations for this information come from official court proceedings and subsequent summaries by the press, with attribution to the relevant authorities and analysts involved in the case.