On 6 December 1985, a bomb exploded in Palais de Justice, the main

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

of the city of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

in Belgium. The explosion took place shortly before hundreds of lawyers including Belgian Justice Minister Jean Gol would attend a swearing-in ceremony. The bomb severely damaged three floors and collapsed the ceiling of the 16th century palace. Philippe Balis, a 20-year-old law student, was killed in the blast. The attack took place just hours after Communist Combatant Cells terrorists bombed a NATO pipeline in Oudenaarde, a place in Flanders, and in France. However the courthouse and pipeline attacks were not linked.

Perpetrator

Jean-Michel Systermans, a lawyer in his fifties, was arrested on 16 June 1987 after three bombs were discovered in a bank vault under his name. Systermans was previously suspended from the ''Conseil de l'Ordre'' in 1980 and afterwards sentenced for

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

and then

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...

, before carrying out his attack on the courthouse. At court accused of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

, Systermans confessed that he was the perpetrator of the bombing. Systermans had previously been the lawyer of several Liège arms dealers. He was sentenced to death in 1991 (although the last execution in the country was back in 1950) and later got a prison sentence. His accomplice, Francis Reynders, was sentenced to life. In 2000 Systermans was released on parole from the detention centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege bombing Explosions in 1985 May 1985 events in Europe Attacks in 1985 History of Liège Murder in Belgium 1985 murders in Belgium Terrorist incidents in Belgium in the 1980s Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1985

Perpetrator

See also

References