The Brussels terror attacks trial is kicking off on Monday, more than 6 years after the bomb blasts at Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek on 22 March 2016. It will not only be the biggest, but by far also the most expensive trial ever in Belgium. The federal judicial authorities calculated the total cost at 35.5 million euros, but VRT NWS estimates it will amount to "at least" 41.7 million. Here's some background about the trial.
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The Brussels terror attacks trial: the biggest, but also the most expensive in Belgian history
Michaël Torfs
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The trial will take place under the form of a Court of Assizes murder trial, which means that members of the public will act as the jury. Experts calculated that this type of murder trials is, on average, 5 times more expensive than the average crime trial.
This trial will take a lot of time. A team of VRT NWS crime pundits estimates that it will take at least 7 months. The whole investigation process is being explained again, and many witnesses and people involved in the investigation will comment on what they have found out. This is important for the jury, but also for the victims. The people's jury (12 members and 24 as a back-up) will all get a compensation as they cannot go to work during the course of the trial. This cost is estimated at 1.15 million.
The main language will be French, but all parties including the victims and the accused have the right to follow the trial in their own language. Interpreters have been engaged and they will work in 8 different languages considering the foreign victims. This cost is calculated at more than 2 million euros.
The 9 accused all have the right to ask for a so-called pro-Deo lawyer, a free laywer for those who can't afford one. This laywer is also being paid with tax money. Estimated cost: 1.5 million.
Police will deploy 200 to 250 people on a daily basis during the trial. This cost is estimated to be 4.72 million euros. Also taking into account the infrastructure (over 30 million) and the financial loss due to the postponement because of Covid-19 (over 3.3 million) the total price tag rises to almost 42 million.