Antwerp –
The desperate man who stabbed the innocent Ria (69) in Antwerp on Thursday is a man who had been wandering around for weeks. “Lock me up,” confessed refugee Hussein A. begged Antwerp officers in a drunken state on Monday.
Pieter Huyberechts, Dirk Coosemans, Annelies Baeten, Jarit Taelman
Saturday April 6, 2024 at 10:09 am
Earlier this week he kicked around Hussein A wildly. After Antwerp police officers picked him up from the street in a drunken state on Monday and let him sleep it off in a cell complex, he then became angry. Not angry because he was in the cell, but angry because he had to get out of the cell again. An officer had to defend himself against the Iraqi’s kicks. According to our information, Hussein A. gave a completely desperate impression. Contrary to what you would expect, he wanted to stay in jail at all costs. Because a cell, it sounds like, guarantees rest, a meal and a bed. Yet he was released. He received a summons for summary justice, which means that he would soon appear before an Antwerp judge. Not because he had been so drunk, but because he had behaved unruly.
First Liège, then Flanders
Hussein A. appears to have been on the loose for quite some time, the investigation shows. It concerns a young man who appeared on Belgian soil for the first time in 2015. This after a long journey from home country Iraq. “He was recognized as a refugee in 2016 and therefore legally resides in Belgium,” explains Paulien Blondeel of the Immigration Department (DVZ). Upon arrival nine years ago, according to our information, he referred to an uncle who lived in Liège. He also lived with that uncle for a while. A. then started a wandering that took him to several places in Flanders. He never stayed in the same place for a long time. It is not known whether he held any jobs at that time. According to our information, he has not committed any really serious criminal offences. It is certain that he has been wandering around lately and was often drunk.
Contrary to what you would expect, A. wanted to stay in jail at all costs. Because a cell guarantees rest, a meal and a bed
Despite his plea and accompanying kicking on Monday, he had to be released from the Antwerp cell again. Barely two days later, Hussein A. was intercepted again. He was not drunk this time, but was caught on a Eurostar from the Netherlands to our country. When checked, he did not have a valid ticket and did not have any identity papers in his pocket. Securail, which is responsible for security in and around the trains, then handed him over to the Immigration Department, so that his fingerprints linked him to his successful asylum application in 2016. And so after his administrative arrest he was not sent to a closed asylum center, but ended up again on the street. Just the place he doesn’t want to end up anymore.
Condition stable
The serious incident followed on Thursday at 11.20 am on platform 12 on the ground floor of Antwerp Central Station. Without any reason, he entered the building upon arrival of the train from Leuven. First, according to well-informed information, he sat down next to a young girl. He didn’t trust it and moved away. After which he stabbed a random victim a little further in the almost empty train compartment. Perpetrator and victim had never seen each other before. 69-year-old Ria from Schoten received four stab wounds. She was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition. Her condition is now stable. Her husband did not want to provide any additional information on Friday.
The investigating judge decided on Friday to arrest the man for attempted murder. An expert was appointed to examine his mental state. No matter how tragic, this time he will get his way: a place behind bars.