Brussels attacks: Belgian authorities free 'wrong' man

Brussels, March 29: Faycal Cheffou, the citizen journalist who was arrested last week in connection to the blasts at Brussels's Tavenzem Airport on March 22 killing several people, was freed on Monday (March 28) as the Belgian authorities conceded that the proof against the man was not as strong as it was thought, a New York Times report said.

Cheffou was earlier villified as "an extremist jihadi horror" by the officials. The country's news media had also identified him as the "third bomber" in the attacks.

The arrest gave the Belgian security apparatus defend itself against charges that it had missed important links ahead of the terror strike at the airport and a metro station. Thirty-five people were killed in the assault. [Brussels: Authorities yet to announce date for re-opening of airport]

The Belgian police went back to the original position seeking help to identify the real culprit and released for the first time, a surveillance video showing the attackers slowly moving with loggage carts through the airport with large black bags, the NYT report said.

However, sources in the federal prosecutor's office said on Monday that charges remained against Cheffou for the time being and said the prosecutor would decide after the probe whether to prosecute the man.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, three persons were detained in and around Brussels on Sunday and were charged with participating in the activities of a terror group, the NYT report said.

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