Iranian refugee charged with manslaughter in killing of judge, clerk in Brussels courthouse

Published November 17, 2014

BRUSSELS (AP) — A 47-year-old Iranian refugee was charged Friday with two counts of manslaughter on suspicion of killing a judge and her court clerk in a downtown Brussels courthouse a day earlier.

Jean-Marc Meilleur, a Brussels prosecurtor's office spokesman, said the man, who was not identified, killed out of revenge and the slain magistrate had ordered his eviction in 2007 from a house after a rent dispute.

The suspect obtained refugee status in 2002 and was known to police for violent acts dating back to the 1990s, Meilleur said.

The shooting occurred Thursday in a courthouse in the center of Brussels.

A lone gunman rose near the end of a court session and gunned down Judge Isabelle Brandon, who was a justice of the peace, and her clerk Andre Bellemans, then fled from the courthouse on foot. The suspect was caught eight hours later in a park a mile (1.5 kilometers) away after a brief exchange of gunfire with police.

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