The public prosecutor on Wednesday asked the third correctional chamber of the Hainaut Court of Appeal to confirm the internment measure, pronounced at first instance in Charleroi, against a young man who had harassed the daughter of Paul Magnette, mayor of Charleroi and president of the PS. The threats against third parties are disputed by the defence.
A complaint had been filed on November 28, 2016 by the minor daughter of Paul Magnette, exasperated by the defendant who sent him messages by computer.
In these messages, the young man declared his love for the young girl he met at school, but he also made disturbing remarks, evoking his fascination with weapons, radicalization to Islam, links with the Russian secret services and his will to carry out attacks in Charleroi. Blocked by the young girl, he contacted his sister but also his father, four times, on social networks.
The young man, found in possession of knives in the police station in July 2016, was the subject of a psychiatric analysis. It appears from the expert’s report that he is suffering from a mental disorder and that he is not responsible for his actions. Reason for which the court had pronounced an internment measure, not contested on the merits by the defense.
The defendant had appealed against the judgment without consulting his lawyer, who only contested the threats made to third parties. The young man threatened to “liquidate” the girl’s ex-boyfriends, without really identifying them.
Judgment will be delivered on June 29.