Belgian terror suspects face September trial

9 July 2004

BRUSSELS – Ten men suspected of having links to Islamic extremist groups will stand trial in Brussels in September, it has been reported.

Public service television station RTBF said on Friday that seven of the men are suspected of plotting a terror attack in 2002 on the Philips tower, a large building in Place De Broukere, central Brussels.

The men have been charged with “forming a criminal group in order to carry out a terrorist attack.”

They also face charges of illegal possession of weapons.

The three other men who will stand trial are believed to have forged documents for Muslim fighters who travelled to Afghanistan from Antwerp.

One of the three men is Tareq Maaroufi, who has Belgian nationality but comes originally from Tunisia.

He has already been found guilty of forging documents for Islamic extremists travelling to Afghanistan or Pakistan, a crime for which he was last month sentenced to seven years in jail.

A number of the ten suspects set to stand trail in September have admitted possessing weapons but all deny plotting terrorist actions, the Belga news agency reported.

Belga said the three suspected leaders of the group were Youssef El Moumem, Tareq Karim and Abdelhakim Gouram.

Subject: Belgian news