A year on, Dutroux trial still far away

A year after the discoveries of the bodies of four abducted children, and the rescue of two others, sent shock waves across Belgium and Europe, it appears that a trial of the man accused of their abductions, Marc Dutroux, is unlikely to begin for yet another year.

This is Belgium.

Mr Victor Hissel, lawyer for the families of two of the murdered girls, says that although a huge mass of information about the disappearances - 7,000 to 8,000 separate pieces of evidence - has been amassed, only 173 of the pieces held by investigators relate to the two girls. The files now run to 70,000 pages and 170 investigators are still working on the case.

Cautioning against trying to proceed to trial on evidence largely based so far on the confessions of the accused, he says: "I don't see how a trial in 1998 would be possible."

Many questions remain unanswered: how and by whom were the children snatched, where were they held for nine months, who abused them?

The Prosecutor-General, Mr Michel Bourlet, who must authorise the trial, agrees: "The sooner the trial starts the better. But we are a long way from that point . . . we need more time." He knows the uproar which would be created if the trial started early, and then failed on a technicality.

Dutroux is in jail in a videomonitored, padded cell in the town of Arlon, near the Luxembourg border, where his trial will be held. He has been charged with the kidnap and murders of the eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo, and of An Marchal (19) and Eefje Lambrechts (17), the kidnapping and abduction of Sabine Dardenne (12) and Laetitia Delheze (14), as well as a catch-all charge of criminal conspiracy.

His wife, Michelle Martin, facing kidnapping charges, is in protective custody in Namur prison in the wake of an attack on her by another prisoner.

And the man who is suspected of having been able to get Dutroux high-level protection for so long, the property developer, Michel Nihoul, is currently in jail for charity fraud. He has been charged with kidnapping one girl and imprisoning two others. Two others also face related charges.

The second part of the work of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the handling of the abductions is now under way in secret, due to a report in December on whether there was a cover-up.

All five accused are expected to be tried together - possibly with a sixth, Patrick Derochette, if the police can show a link between the killer of the Moroccan, Loubna Benaissa, and the Dutroux circle.

Arlon, a town of only 25,000 people, will face a huge challenge hosting the trial when it does happen. International media attention is likely to be intense and the protection of the hated Dutroux will require special bullet-proof glass shielding of the dock.

If convicted, the accused face "life" terms - 20 to 30 years - for kidnapping, and "life" - real life - for murder. Meanwhile, not one of the officials, policemen, magistrates, or politicians criticised in the first report of the parliamentary commission for their ineffectiveness in the investigations of abductions has been disciplined.

Mr Benoit Dejemeppe, sharply pilloried for the ineptness of his conduct of the Loubna case, remains Chief Brussels Prosecutor.

And the former minister for justice, Mr Melchior Wathelet, who released Dutroux halfway through a previous sentence for rape, has just been renominated for a second term to the European Court of Justice.

Of the slow police disciplinary hearings, one commission member observed: "The only people whose cases have been dealt with so far have all been promoted."

The only person so far to face a public sanction for his role in the affair has been the much-admired magistrate, Mr Jean-Marc Connerotte.

He was removed from the case last autumn after taking part in a charity fund-raiser for the families of the victims. His crime was to eat a free bowl of spaghetti.