New protest against parole of Dutroux’s accomplice

AFP/Brussels

A protester holds a placard with the words ‘This is too much’ during the demonstration in Brussels. The accomplice of convicted Belgian paedophile killer Marc Dutroux was to leave prison for a convent, a Belgian court ruled on July 31. Michelle Martin was sentenced to 30 years in 2004. He is serving a life sentence for kidnapping, raping and killing several girls as well as a former accomplice

Thousands of people gathered in sweltering heat in Brussels yesterday to protest a court decision to grant parole to the ex-wife and accomplice of Belgian paedophile serial killer Marc Dutroux.Police estimated about 5,000 people attended the event, the latest in a series of protests against a court ruling earlier this month to free Michelle Martin, who has served 16 years of her 30-year sentence for her involvement in the kidnap, rape and deaths of two young girls in the 1990s.Martin, 52, is due to be released to a convent that has agreed to house her, pending a state appeal.Several parents of Dutroux’s victims were among the demonstrators.One of two surviving victims, Laetitia Delhez, took part in the protest. The other survivor, Sabine Dardenne, expressed her wish to stay away.Demonstrators held signs with messages including “Corrupted justice” and “Mandatory sentencing for child abusers”.“It was a great success,” Jean-Denis Lejeune, the father of one of Dutroux’s victims and the organiser of the protest, said after the rally. “The government cannot ignore what happened today. We are motivated to go as far as possible.”The march had echoes of a similar protest 16 years ago known as the White March.At that demonstration, in October 1996, 300,000 people wearing white marched after Dutroux’s arrest to demand the reform of Belgium’s police and justice systems and better protection for children.Dutroux was jailed for life in June 2004 for the kidnap and rape in the 1990s of six young and teenage girls, and the murder of four of them.Martin, 52, was convicted in 2004 for helping Dutroux hold his victims prisoner, and for complicity in the deaths of two of the girls.Belgium’s top appeal court is due to decide on August 28 whether to uphold the decision to release Martin.