Trial
It took eight years for the case to come to trial. There were numerous problems, including arguments over jurisdiction, legal and procedural mistakes and charges of incompetence and evidence that disappeared. There were also several suicides of people involved with the case including prosecutors, police officers and witnesses. Communications between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia also fell short. In October 1996, 350,000 people marched in Brussels to protest against police incompetence in the case. The slow pace of the trial and the disturbing revelations of more of Dutroux's victims created public outrage. During the trial, Dutroux claimed to be a minion of a continent-wide pedophile ring that included prominent individuals and the legal establishment in Belgium. Dardenne and Delhez both testified against Dutroux during his 2004 trial, and their testimony played an important role in his subsequent conviction. They both also asked him why he did what he did to them.
Dardenne's account of her abduction and its aftermath are documented in her memoir J'avais douze ans, j'ai pris mon vélo et je suis partie à l'école ("I was twelve years old, I took my bike and I left for school"). The book has been translated into 14 languages and published in 30 countries. It became a number one bestseller both in continental Europe and the UK.
Read more about this topic: Sabine Dardenne
Famous quotes containing the word trial:
“A man who has no office to go to—I don’t care who he is—is a trial of which you can have no conception.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“A trial cannot be conducted by announcing the general culpability of a civilization. Only the actual deeds which, at least, stank in the nostrils of the entire world were brought to judgment.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)