Belgium: The Saudi murders

Belgian newspaper Het Laatste News (HLN) claims that the 1989 murder of the rector of the Great Mosque was not related to his rejection of Salman Rushdie's death sentence.

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At least three of the six murders ascribed to the Belgian terror suspect Abdelkader Belliraj had been committed with the same weapon, according to the criminal investigation done already in 1989.

In the late 80s Belgian detectives suspected there was a connection between the murder of the Saudi imam Abdullah Al-Ahdal of the Brussels Mosque, his Tunisian librarian Salem El-Behir and the Saudi embassy driver Jah al-Rasul. They were killed in 1989 with a 7.65mm pistol, a handgun often used by hired killers.

The police also found a motive for the attack. The victims apparently witnessed extensive fraud committed by personnel of the Saudi embassy in Brussels. Belliraj was interrogated, but nothing could be proven about it.

Meanwhile, HLN claims that Belliraj had served for years as an informant of the Belgian Security Service.

Sources: HLN 1, 2 (Dutch)

See also: Belgium: Terrorist leader committed six murders, Belgium: Wife of murder-terrorist suspect denies connection to murders, Belgium: Terrorist leader interrogated already in 1989

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