Poland will surrender the 45-year-old Russian lorry driver suspected of murdering a 56-year-old man in Zeebrugge (Bruges – West Flanders) to Belgium this week. The West Flanders public prosecutor's office has confirmed the news. The second suspect, a 33-year-old man, did not agree to being surrendered and has lodged an appeal with the courts in Poland.
On Friday evening, 22 August, Herwig from Zeebrugge was beaten to death on the street after an argument in a night shop. The suspects, two Russian lorry drivers aged 45 and 33, then fled the country, heading for their homeland.
Thanks to international cooperation, the pair were arrested in Poland five days later. There, a court in Łodz ruled that both suspects could be surrendered to Belgium.
Surrender and questioning
The older suspect will be surrendered to Belgium this week. He has now confessed to the murder.
‘Upon arrival, he will be questioned by West Flemish Federal Judicial Police and then brought before an investigating judge in Bruges and charged with murder,’ the West Flanders public prosecutor's office says.
The younger suspect maintains his innocence. The 33-year-old man did not agree to his surrender and lodged an appeal. It is not yet clear when he will be surrendered.