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Judge halts Belgian Syria fighter trial on security concerns

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AFP Brussels
Last Updated : Jan 29 2016 | 9:32 PM IST
A furious Belgian judge today adjourned indefinitely a high-profile appeal hearing with links to the Paris attacks because police had not met his demands for increased security.
Judge Pierre Saint-Remy yesterday had suspended proceedings for a day after warning he would call a complete halt unless "satisfactory security measures" were put in place.
"My directives concerning security were not respected. The case is adjourned indefinitely," a visibly angry Saint-Remy said.
Shortly before announcing his decision, the judge had left the chamber to berate press photographers and TV crews who had taken pictures of the court room from outside.
"I said 'no pictures!' I regret that the police have failed to follow my instructions," he said, threatening legal action against journalists if they continued.
Security concerns have mounted steadily in Belgium since a bloody attack on the Jewish museum in central Brussels left four dead in 2014.

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The Belgian government then put armed troops on the streets in January last year after breaking up an Islamist cell planning attacks on the police.
Security was increased again after the November Paris attacks that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.
The court had been due to hear appeals by four people against prison sentences imposed for helping recruit foreign fighters for Syria as part of a ring which included key figures in the Paris attacks, chief among them Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, played a leading role in the Paris killings which increasingly appear to have been largely organised and coordinated from Brussels.
In July, a court trying 32 people sentenced Abaaoud in absentia to 20 years jail for his role in the recruitment network.
The case attracted a lot of attention amid fears young Belgians could return home from Syria and Iraq battle-hardened, dangerously radicalised and ready to take on the authorities.
Belgium has charged 11 people with terrorism-related offences linked to the Paris attacks.

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First Published: Jan 29 2016 | 9:32 PM IST

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