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| Belgium Frees Man Charged With Terrorism, Renewing Search for Airport Attacker | Belgium Frees Man Charged With Terrorism, Renewing Search for Airport Attacker |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BRUSSELS — The Belgian authorities on Monday conceded another enormous blunder in their investigation into the attacks last week on Brussels. They freed a man they had charged with terrorism and murder, acknowledging that a witness had mistakenly identified him as a bomber in a dark hat and white coat in an airport surveillance photo. | |
| The man, who was arrested on Thursday and charged on Friday, was released after three days in custody, during which some officials publicly vilified him as a terrorist. On Monday, the police said that the real attacker, one of the men who blew up a departure hall at Brussels Airport, remained at large, and they issued a new plea to the public to help identify him. | The man, who was arrested on Thursday and charged on Friday, was released after three days in custody, during which some officials publicly vilified him as a terrorist. On Monday, the police said that the real attacker, one of the men who blew up a departure hall at Brussels Airport, remained at large, and they issued a new plea to the public to help identify him. |
| The release of the man — who has been identified by the Belgian news media and Belgian officials as Fayçal Cheffou, who has called himself a freelance journalist — is a stunning setback for the Belgian authorities, who have struggled for more than a year to get a handle on the growing threat of Islamic State militants. Officials have acknowledged serious missteps, including a failure to piece together vital pieces of evidence that might have averted the attacks last week. | The release of the man — who has been identified by the Belgian news media and Belgian officials as Fayçal Cheffou, who has called himself a freelance journalist — is a stunning setback for the Belgian authorities, who have struggled for more than a year to get a handle on the growing threat of Islamic State militants. Officials have acknowledged serious missteps, including a failure to piece together vital pieces of evidence that might have averted the attacks last week. |
| “The evidence that had led to the arrest of the man named Fayçal C. was not confirmed by the evolution of the ongoing investigation,” Thierry Werts, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor, said in a statement. “Consequently, he has been freed by the investigative judge.” | “The evidence that had led to the arrest of the man named Fayçal C. was not confirmed by the evolution of the ongoing investigation,” Thierry Werts, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor, said in a statement. “Consequently, he has been freed by the investigative judge.” |
| Mr. Cheffou had been picked out of a photographic lineup by a cabdriver who shuttled three men to Brussels Airport, where two of them — later identified as Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui — blew themselves up at 7:58 a.m. on Tuesday. Mr. Bakraoui’s younger brother, Khalid, blew himself up at 9:11 a.m. at the Maelbeek subway station. | Mr. Cheffou had been picked out of a photographic lineup by a cabdriver who shuttled three men to Brussels Airport, where two of them — later identified as Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui — blew themselves up at 7:58 a.m. on Tuesday. Mr. Bakraoui’s younger brother, Khalid, blew himself up at 9:11 a.m. at the Maelbeek subway station. |
| The death toll from the attacks rose on Monday to 35, as the authorities reported that four victims who had been hospitalized died from their injuries. The toll, which was reported by the Belgian health minister, Maggie De Block, did not include the three suicide bombers. | The death toll from the attacks rose on Monday to 35, as the authorities reported that four victims who had been hospitalized died from their injuries. The toll, which was reported by the Belgian health minister, Maggie De Block, did not include the three suicide bombers. |
| Over the weekend, the authorities were said to be analyzing DNA evidence to determine whether Mr. Cheffou — who was arrested early Thursday evening, of all places, in front of the federal prosecutor’s office — was the third airport attacker. But without waiting for confirmation, some Belgian officials spoke openly of Mr. Cheffou as a terrorist. On Twitter, Theo Francken, the state secretary for asylum and migration, called Mr. Cheffou “an extremist jihadi horror.” | Over the weekend, the authorities were said to be analyzing DNA evidence to determine whether Mr. Cheffou — who was arrested early Thursday evening, of all places, in front of the federal prosecutor’s office — was the third airport attacker. But without waiting for confirmation, some Belgian officials spoke openly of Mr. Cheffou as a terrorist. On Twitter, Theo Francken, the state secretary for asylum and migration, called Mr. Cheffou “an extremist jihadi horror.” |
| In an interview on Saturday, Yvan Mayeur, the mayor of the City of Brussels, the central borough of the 19 municipalities that make up the Belgian capital, said that Mr. Cheffou had been identified in a police photo line by the taxi driver, but added that the authorities were still waiting for DNA confirmation that he was the bomber. | In an interview on Saturday, Yvan Mayeur, the mayor of the City of Brussels, the central borough of the 19 municipalities that make up the Belgian capital, said that Mr. Cheffou had been identified in a police photo line by the taxi driver, but added that the authorities were still waiting for DNA confirmation that he was the bomber. |
| Mr. Mayeur added that he did not know whether Mr. Cheffou had been involved in terrorism, but did know him to be a local troublemaker who had repeatedly disrupted a camp of refugees in Park Maximilien, near the Gare du Nord railway station. | Mr. Mayeur added that he did not know whether Mr. Cheffou had been involved in terrorism, but did know him to be a local troublemaker who had repeatedly disrupted a camp of refugees in Park Maximilien, near the Gare du Nord railway station. |
| Mr. Cheffou, he said, often harangued and got into fights with volunteers from Belgian nongovernmental organizations, denouncing them for not being Muslims and urging migrants in their care to rebel. “He tried to get the refugees to turn against N.G.O.’s because they were ‘nonbelievers,’ ” Mr. Mayeur recalled. Last September, after prosecutors declined to intervene, the mayor issued a municipal order banning Mr. Cheffou from the migrant encampment, which was later shut down. | Mr. Cheffou, he said, often harangued and got into fights with volunteers from Belgian nongovernmental organizations, denouncing them for not being Muslims and urging migrants in their care to rebel. “He tried to get the refugees to turn against N.G.O.’s because they were ‘nonbelievers,’ ” Mr. Mayeur recalled. Last September, after prosecutors declined to intervene, the mayor issued a municipal order banning Mr. Cheffou from the migrant encampment, which was later shut down. |
| In a video Mr. Cheffou appears to have made in July 2014, he stood in front of a detention center for refugees and asylum seekers in Steenokkerzeel, near Zaventem and the Brussels Airport. In the video, Mr. Cheffou faulted the government for serving Muslim refugees meals before the end of the daily fast during the month of Ramadan. | In a video Mr. Cheffou appears to have made in July 2014, he stood in front of a detention center for refugees and asylum seekers in Steenokkerzeel, near Zaventem and the Brussels Airport. In the video, Mr. Cheffou faulted the government for serving Muslim refugees meals before the end of the daily fast during the month of Ramadan. |
| On Monday, the Belgian police again asked for help identifying the airport attacker, and they released for the first time surveillance footage showing him and the two attackers who died. The silent footage, which appears to be slowed down, shows the three men pushing luggage carts with large black bags. The video focuses on the man in the white coat and dark hat and blurs out the rest. The man has a short black beard and also appears to be wearing glasses. | On Monday, the Belgian police again asked for help identifying the airport attacker, and they released for the first time surveillance footage showing him and the two attackers who died. The silent footage, which appears to be slowed down, shows the three men pushing luggage carts with large black bags. The video focuses on the man in the white coat and dark hat and blurs out the rest. The man has a short black beard and also appears to be wearing glasses. |
| Also on Monday, the Belgian authorities announced that they had charged three men who were detained on Sunday with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. | Also on Monday, the Belgian authorities announced that they had charged three men who were detained on Sunday with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. |
| The men — identified only as Yassine A., Mohamed B. and Aboubaker O. — were arrested in police raids in and around Brussels. It was not yet clear if they were connected to the attacks on Tuesday. | The men — identified only as Yassine A., Mohamed B. and Aboubaker O. — were arrested in police raids in and around Brussels. It was not yet clear if they were connected to the attacks on Tuesday. |
| The Belgian police conducted 13 home searches on Sunday — four in Mechelen, a town about 20 miles north of Brussels, one in Duffel, about 25 miles north of the capital, and eight in Brussels itself — and they arrested nine people; six were released after questioning. | The Belgian police conducted 13 home searches on Sunday — four in Mechelen, a town about 20 miles north of Brussels, one in Duffel, about 25 miles north of the capital, and eight in Brussels itself — and they arrested nine people; six were released after questioning. |
| The authorities across Europe have intensified counterterrorism operations in the wake of the attacks, with arrests in at least five countries, some of them connected to the attacks in Brussels and others to the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. | The authorities across Europe have intensified counterterrorism operations in the wake of the attacks, with arrests in at least five countries, some of them connected to the attacks in Brussels and others to the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. |