Two Tunisians living in the Paris region and “probably linked to the perpetrator of the attack” committed on October 16 in Brussels, were charged by a Parisian investigating judge, according to the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) of France.
Presented on Monday before an investigating judge, they were accused of criminal terrorist association and complicity in murder related to the attack, after having been detained in preventive detention, according to information provided by Pnat to the France Presse agency (AFP).
One of the suspects, in his 40s, who “has lived in France for almost 20 years,” “formally contests” the charges, his lawyer told AFP.
“He has nothing to do with the attack. The attacker is a friend I have known for a long time, in whom I did not see any signs of radicalization. I would never have imagined such an act,” said Souleymen Rakrouki.
Lawyers for the other Tunisian citizen in his 50s declined to comment.
According to Pnat, investigations continue into the two men’s links to Abdesalem Lassoued, a 45-year-old radicalized Tunisian, who allegedly killed the two Swedish citizens.
The attack occurred near the center of Brussels shortly before a soccer match between Belgium and Sweden and targeted Swedish fans.
The alleged attacker, who had been the subject of an extradition request from Tunisia for more than a year, was shot dead on October 17 by Belgian police.
In Paris, an investigation was opened on October 17 following information “transmitted by the Belgian judicial authorities,” Pnat reported.
Four people “probably linked to the perpetrator of the attack” were arrested on Thursday in Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire and the Paris region.
Source: TSF
