Hearing lasted only half a minute: Costa drug trial postponed again after request for recusal

Defendant Berry S. submitted the request for recusal because, among other things, he disagrees with the separation of the files of co-defendants Lucio Aquino and Donato O., who are currently in Italian custody. The court in Tongeren decided on Monday to hear their part in the Costa case at a date yet to be determined and to separate their files from the trial that is currently underway.

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However, a number of other suspects in Costa who are linked to Aquino and Donato O. thought it was important on Monday that they not be split off, so that they can defend themselves against possible statements from the two who are now in Italy.

“Our interests were not sufficiently taken into account”

Lawyer Hans Van De Wal, who is defending Berry S., states in the recusal request that the judges can no longer judge impartially because they would have wrongly taken into account the reasonable period in criminal cases, which stipulates that every defendant has the right to have his case heard within a reasonable period. As a result, they would not have taken sufficient account of the interests of the defendants who opposed a split.

In addition, Van De Wal’s request states that the judges acted too pragmatically by not responding for the time being to the request of certain parties who asked on Monday to add the complete file of civilian infiltrator Francky D. to the Costa file. As a result, they would not take sufficient account of the right to a fair trial and would no longer be able to judge impartially and independently as a result of this decision.

The law now stipulates that the challenged judges have two days to decide whether to acquiesce in the challenge or refuse to recuse themselves from the case. In that case, the appeal will be heard within two weeks, but Costa will once again be at a standstill. “This disqualification seriously disrupts the court’s functioning. Under current legislation, the impact of a disqualification is very significant on the court’s timetable, taking into account the historical shortage of judges,” said a statement issued by the court.