Dozens of suspects facing trial in Belgium accused of membership of a terror organization

Co- defendant and key witness Jejoen Bontinck, center left, arrives with his lawyer Kris Luyckx to the main courthouse in Antwerp, Belgium on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Dozens of Belgians on Monday are going on trial accused of leading or being members of a terrorist organization that allegedly recruited fighters for jihadi groups in Syria. The case, one of the biggest-ever terror trials in Belgium, centers on the radical Muslim group Sharia4Belgium and its members. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

Lawyer Ergun Top, center, arrives at the main courthouse in Antwerp, Belgium on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Dozens of Belgians on Monday are going on trial accused of leading or being members of a terrorist organization that allegedly recruited fighters for jihadi groups in Syria. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

Police patrol outside the main courthouse in Antwerp, Belgium on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. On Monday the Sharia4Belgium terrorism process began in Antwerp in which 46 defendants, along with leader of the group Fouad Belkacem, are on trial either because they are the leader of a terrorist group or because they have participated in activities of that group. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

Dozens of Belgians are going on trial accused of leading or being members of a terrorist organization that allegedly recruited fighters for jihadi groups in Syria.

Few of the 46 suspects are expected to attend the trial's opening Monday as they are either believed to be fighting in Syria or to have died in the country's civil war.

The case, one of the biggest-ever terror trials in Belgium, centers on the radical Muslim group Sharia4Belgium and its members.

The group was disbanded nearly two years ago. Prosecutors now want to prove it was a terror organization.

The prosecution's opening statements are scheduled Monday amid tight security in an Antwerp courtroom.