Murder of Nordine El Talbi: suspected shooter said to be a 16-17-year-old minor arrested in Paris
According to RTBF, the main suspect in the death of police officer Nordine El Talbi is believed to be a teenager aged 16 to 17, intercepted in Paris while attempting to travel to Morocco.
Nordine El Talbi: a minor suspected of being the shooter, his arrest in Paris raises questions
According to DHnet, which reports information from RTBF, the main suspect in the murder of police officer Nordine El Talbi in Jette is believed to be aged 16 to 17. This young man is said to have been apprehended in Paris while seeking to travel to Morocco.
The Belgian public prosecutor's office is said to have submitted a request for extradition to the French authorities. Steps are allegedly already under way to place him in a public youth protection institution (IPPJ). The suspect was resident in Brussels and was among six people with arrest warrants in this case. He was also already known to police services and youth welfare services.
Family waiting, lawyer sceptical
Sven Mary, lawyer for the family of Nordine El Talbi, responded to this revelation to HLN. "We are only learning from the media that Nordine's murderer would be a minor. Is this accurate? We have no idea. Nordine's family has already called me to find out. But I also do not know where the RTBF journalist is getting his information from," he stated.
Mary expressed doubts about the motivations behind this disclosure. "I cannot believe that a single person from the public prosecutor's office or the police deliberately leaked such information at this stage of the investigation," he said, whilst adding that this type of strategy is not without precedent. "When there are multiple adult suspects and only one minor suspect, it is typical: to claim that it was the minor who fired. Because, unlike adult suspects, he would only have to appear before the juvenile court and would thus avoid a custodial sentence."
The lawyer recalled, however, that a procedure for referring the case to an adult court exists and would allow, if necessary, for the minor to be tried as an adult.
A leak that benefits the suspects, according to Mary
Mary also pointed to the operational consequences of this information leak. "I find this leak – if it is true – terrible. Because the suspects in France and Spain will learn about it too, before even arriving here and being questioned," he warned.
He concluded straightforwardly: "Let us be honest: who benefits from such a leak or the dissemination of such information? In my opinion, only the suspects or their lawyers benefit. I fear this is pure strategy."
Context: car-jacking and drug trafficking
Nordine El Talbi died following an intervention related to a car-jacking in Jette. A link to drug trafficking is considered plausible, but investigators have not yet confirmed this line of enquiry. The victim of the car-jacking himself was placed under arrest warrant for drug dealing, whilst weapons were discovered near the suspect vehicle. Furthermore, three other suspects had previously been arrested near Almería, Spain.
Source: DHnet