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| Brussels prosecutors charge two men with terrorist activities | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Belgian prosecutors have charged two terrorist suspects in connection with the suicide-bomb attacks on Brussels airport and metro that killed 31 people and injured 300. | Belgian prosecutors have charged two terrorist suspects in connection with the suicide-bomb attacks on Brussels airport and metro that killed 31 people and injured 300. |
| One of the men, referred to by prosecutors as Fayçal C, was charged with participation in a terrorist group, terrorist killings and attempted terrorist killings. | One of the men, referred to by prosecutors as Fayçal C, was charged with participation in a terrorist group, terrorist killings and attempted terrorist killings. |
| Fayçal C was arrested by police on Thursday night in Brussels as he was standing outside the federal prosecutor’s office in the centre of the city. A search was then carried out at Fayçal C’s home. No arms or explosives were found. | Fayçal C was arrested by police on Thursday night in Brussels as he was standing outside the federal prosecutor’s office in the centre of the city. A search was then carried out at Fayçal C’s home. No arms or explosives were found. |
| Belgian authorities have not said whether Fayçal C might have been pictured on CCTV in connection to the Brussels attacks. | |
| There have been media reports that have linked the newly named suspect with the “man in white” pictured moments before the airport attack. This has not been independently verified. | |
| A second man, Aboubakar A, arrested separately on Thursday night in a car in another part of Brussels, has also been charged with participating in terrorist activities. | A second man, Aboubakar A, arrested separately on Thursday night in a car in another part of Brussels, has also been charged with participating in terrorist activities. |
| Belgian police also made arrests on Friday relating to an alleged foiled terror plot in France after explosives were found in Argenteuil on the edge of Paris. One man, Rabah N, has been charged with participating in terrorist activities in relation to the Paris investigation. | Belgian police also made arrests on Friday relating to an alleged foiled terror plot in France after explosives were found in Argenteuil on the edge of Paris. One man, Rabah N, has been charged with participating in terrorist activities in relation to the Paris investigation. |
| A man who was shot and arrested at a tram stop in Schaerbeek, Brussels, on Friday is being held for further 24 hours’ questioning. He was named by the prosecutor as Abderamane A. | A man who was shot and arrested at a tram stop in Schaerbeek, Brussels, on Friday is being held for further 24 hours’ questioning. He was named by the prosecutor as Abderamane A. |
| Organisers have also called off a march on Sunday in Brussels that was meant to show defiance against last week’s bomb attacks, after senior officials urged people to stay away to avoid putting further strain an over-taxed police force. | Organisers have also called off a march on Sunday in Brussels that was meant to show defiance against last week’s bomb attacks, after senior officials urged people to stay away to avoid putting further strain an over-taxed police force. |
| Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur and Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon asked for the demonstration to be delayed for several weeks. | Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur and Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon asked for the demonstration to be delayed for several weeks. |
| “Given the security level 3 and the capacity of the police, the interior minister and the mayor ask you to delay tomorrow’s gathering,” the mayor said on Twitter on Saturday. | |
| Organiser of the march, Emmanuel Foulon, who is a spokesman at the European parliament, said he fully understood that argument. | Organiser of the march, Emmanuel Foulon, who is a spokesman at the European parliament, said he fully understood that argument. |
| “The security of our citizens is an absolute priority,” he said by email. “We totally agree with the authorities’ request to delay this plan for a later date. We in turn ask citizens not to come to Brussels this Sunday.” | “The security of our citizens is an absolute priority,” he said by email. “We totally agree with the authorities’ request to delay this plan for a later date. We in turn ask citizens not to come to Brussels this Sunday.” |
| Meanwhile, security officials also confirmed on Saturday that a German woman was killed in the attacks. | Meanwhile, security officials also confirmed on Saturday that a German woman was killed in the attacks. |
| Germany’s interior minister Thomas de Maiziere vowed that his country “will not rest until the murderers and those who aided them are held responsible”. | Germany’s interior minister Thomas de Maiziere vowed that his country “will not rest until the murderers and those who aided them are held responsible”. |
| He said: “My thoughts are with the young woman’s relatives, as well as the relatives of the many who were injured or killed on 22 March.” He added: “Belgian authorities can be sure of our support.” | |
| The woman was identified as Jennifer Scintu Waetzmann, a coach for a youth handball club in the German town of Aachen. | |
| The German newspaper Bild quoted the woman’s uncle, Claudio Scinto, saying she and her husband were at Brussels airport’s American Airlines check-in counter, en route to New York for a belated honeymoon, when a bomb exploded. | |
| Related: After the Brussels attacks, we’re starting to develop a coping strategy | Jonathan Freedland | |
| Her husband, Lars Waetzmann, has been reported among the 270 wounded in Brussels. | Her husband, Lars Waetzmann, has been reported among the 270 wounded in Brussels. |
| Brussels airport will remain closed until Tuesday. The airport is still repairing the departures hall and says it is implementing new security measures. | Brussels airport will remain closed until Tuesday. The airport is still repairing the departures hall and says it is implementing new security measures. |
| A statement said that passenger flights would not resume before Tuesday. “Brussels airport is starting preparations to partially resume passenger flights and to implement the new security measures at Belgian airports, decided by the federal government,” it added. | A statement said that passenger flights would not resume before Tuesday. “Brussels airport is starting preparations to partially resume passenger flights and to implement the new security measures at Belgian airports, decided by the federal government,” it added. |
| No details were provided as to what the new security measures would involve but, in the aftermath of the attack, it has faced criticism that security had been light with no systematic checks on passengers entering the departure hall. | |
| The Easter weekend is normally one of the busiest of the year, with thousands of holidaymakers jetting off from Brussels to destinations worldwide. | The Easter weekend is normally one of the busiest of the year, with thousands of holidaymakers jetting off from Brussels to destinations worldwide. |
| Following the attacks, airlines moved operations to regional airports or even to neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and Germany. | |
| Low-cost pioneer Ryanair moved its Brussels flights to its main base at Charleroi, about an hour’s drive south of the Belgian capital. |