Judge Walks Out of Trial on Soccer Riot That Killed 39
A Belgian judge walked out of the courtroom Monday after clashing with a lawyer for British soccer fans who were charged with manslaughter in a Brussels stadium riot that killed 39 people.
Judge Pierre Verlynden later suspended the trial until today.
Lawyers launched an aggressive defense for the 26 Britons charged in connection with the deaths in May, 1985. They disputed the validity of a police video film and sought to call new witnesses.
Thirty-four Italians, four Belgians and one Briton died when rival fans clashed before the European Cup final between England’s Liverpool and Juventus of Italy.
On the opening day of the trial Monday, defense attorney Serge Moureaux pressed for former Interior Minister Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb and several police officers to be summoned as witnesses.
When the judge asked him to wind up his submission, Moureaux said, “You are interrupting my speech, and I am asking you to recognize that.”
“I refuse,” Verlynden said--and walked out.
Earlier, another defense lawyer, George Beauthier, asked the court to bar a composite video film of the riots made by police from several television film recordings.
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