2023-06-13 17:06:00
The travelers have returned and the collective fear that the terrorists wanted to instill by targeting this “international mobility node” has not taken root, noted Me David Verwaerde on Tuesday, before the Brussels Assize Court.
According to the representative of this aggrieved institution, the jihadists targeted the national airport for three reasons. The first – the suicide bomber “Najim Laachraoui said it himself” in an audio message intended for the head of the cell – was the motivation to cause as many victims as possible. “On the day of the attacks, 60,000 passengers were expected at the airport,” noted the lawyer.
The second has an international dimension “by directing attacks against citizens of enemy countries”, continued the criminal lawyer. In the same voice message, Najim Laachraoui specifies that American, Russian and Israeli flights are scheduled for that day at Zaventem airport.
Finally, the last reason, it is a question of touching a symbol, advanced Me Verwaerde. “The airport is an economic and social center”, recalling that 260 companies were established there and that “millions of travelers” passed through it each year. “The terrorists knew that choosing this target would amplify fear among the population.”
“The terrorists sought to destabilize the economic and social structures of a country. It was their goal to destabilize the airport.” This objective, the cell has achieved. But only in the short term, estimated the criminal lawyer.
“The fear did not set in, because the airport employees returned to work the next day to find the luggage, help with the reopening… And the passengers came back. In the long term, the terrorists failed to maintain this collective fear”, he concluded.
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