The prosecutor general made his conclusions in the Bommeleeër-bis case unmistakably clear on Friday.
"The people sitting here before us had nothing to do with the bomb attacks. They simply saw something that they believe they cannot reveal", he stressed several times during his closing arguments.
However, he said he had little hope that they would disclose that information now. After all, some of them had even given up their positions or jeopardised their careers over the matter.
"The people we have sitting here had nothing to do with the attacks. They just saw something they thought they couldn't say."
Based on their testimony, it would appear as though they had handled the investigations in the 1980s like complete amateurs. In his view, however, that was far from the truth. It was not as though no investigative work had been carried out. The defendants themselves had also wanted to find out who was responsible for the bomb attacks.
But the possibility that the perpetrator or perpetrators might have come from within their own ranks had hung over them like the sword of Damocles. It would have been highly damaging if that had come to light. For this reason, according to the prosecutor, they had worked behind the backs of the judicial authorities.
The prosecutor general then addressed the cases of the four defendants individually.
Aloyse Harpes, the former commander of the Gendarmerie, had repeatedly intervened in the Bommeleeër investigation. "He is the one who simply sidelined the investigating judge," the prosecutor said of the now 98-year-old colonel.
Pierre Reuland, as head of the Brigade Mobile, had been kept informed of the progress of the investigation.
Armand Schockweiler, the chief investigator at the time, had also possessed a great deal of information and had been heavily involved.
The same applied to Guy Stebens, then an officer in the service, who, given his position, should at least have been informed to some extent.
The four defendants are accused of giving false testimony on one or two occasions during the 2013–2014 Bommeleeër trial.
"We are talking about fundamentally important questions, not minor details. These were people in key positions. And now they say they cannot remember. That simply cannot be", the prosecutor stressed.
Giving false testimony under oath carries a prison sentence of between five and ten years. According to the prosecutor general, the case was exceptionally serious:
"The functioning of the justice system was quite simply sabotaged."
He acknowledged that the events in question had taken place more than ten years ago and that the defendants were now of an advanced age.
However, the passage of time alone was not sufficient grounds for imposing a prison sentence of less than five years. The defendants had held positions of responsibility and were refusing to disclose what they knew.
Furthermore, their false testimony could have repercussions for Marc Scheer and Jos Wilmes, the two defendants in the main Bommeleeër trial.
For these reasons, the prosecutor general is seeking prison sentences of at least five years. He said a suspended sentence could be considered, but that it was not his role to make the case for one.
At the original trial, the prosecution had requested five years in prison for Pierre Reuland, three years for Armand Schockweiler and two years for Aloyse Harpes. It had also sought 18-month prison sentences for Guy Stebens and Guillaume Büchler.
As a reminder, Guillaume Büchler, Marcel Weydert, Aloyse Harpes, Guy Stebens and Armand Schockweiler were all acquitted at the original trial.
However, no appeals were lodged against the verdicts concerning Marcel Weydert and Guillaume Büchler.
The trial will resume next Tuesday afternoon.
