Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborn said that he decided to resign after pressure related to the way Belgium dealt with the case of a Tunisian gunman who declared himself affiliated with ISIS and killed two people in Brussels this week.
Van Quickenborn said that an investigation conducted into the 45-year-old Tunisian man, who shot dead two Swedish football fans in Brussels on Monday evening, revealed that Tunisia had submitted a request for his deportation from Belgium in August 2022, but the Belgian judicial authorities ignored the request.
He added to reporters: “This is an unforgivable mistake that had tragic consequences,” and he continued when announcing his resignation: “I want to bear full political responsibility for that.”
In a video clip posted on social media, the gunman identified himself as Abdul Salam Al-Jilani and claimed responsibility for the attack.
Al-Jilani had requested asylum in Belgium in 2019, but his attempt failed and he was living there illegally.
Van Quickenborn said earlier this week that Al-Jilani was known to Belgian police for his connection to smuggling people into Britain.
The gunman targeted the two Swedes while they were in Brussels to watch the Belgium-Sweden match in the European Championship qualifiers. The match could not be completed on Monday due to gunfire.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the shooting as a “brutal terrorist attack.”
