2019-03-21 Remembering the victims of the Brussels attacks of 22 March of 2016
21 March 2019
On 22 March 2016, Belgium was the target of three coordinated terrorist attacks, claiming 32 lives and injuring more than 300 people: two bombs exploded at Brussels Airport, Zaventem, and one at Maalbek Metro Station in the European Quarter of Brussels.
Faced with the unfathomable, many lawyers practising in Brussels felt the need to help those impacted by the attacks and show solidarity - in several cases, they knew one or more victims personally.
Within a few days, a Pro Bono Initiative of Brussels based law firms was set up, to offer legal support to victims of, survivors and families of those affected by the attacks, which Ashurst Brussels joined immediately together with a number of other international law firms.
During the past three years, Ashurst Brussels has been actively contributing to the Initiative during regular calls and meetings, and was able to assist a number of individuals who had been affected by the attacks with legal support.
Associates Giulia Carnazza and Schéhérazade Oozeerally advised an Iranian national in relation to the process for claiming compensation from insurance companies and before the Belgian financial aid Commission ("Commission pour l'aide financière aux victimes d'actes intentionnels de violence").
Senior Associate and Pro Bono Champion Anna Duron and Associate Clément Dekemexhe, provided support to four Polish nationals: they advised them concerning the application for compensation to the Belgian financial aid Commission, and reviewed provisional compensation offers from insurance companies. They represent them in the ongoing criminal proceedings in Belgium.
On this third anniversary of the attacks, we honour the memories of the victims, and those whose lives will have been irreparably affected through loss or injury.
We thank all four lawyers for their support to the victims of the attacks and reiterate, as a firm, our commitment to the Initiative and to pro bono legal assistance to the vulnerable.
