Strasbourg, 14 February 2000

Dear Colleague,

More than three years after the arrest of M. Dutroux, a growing number of Belgian citizens are beginning to doubt the real will of the authorities to get to the bottom of what has become known as the Dutroux-Nihoul Affair, although it actually involves a very long series of abductions, acts of torture and rape, and child killings. These doubts emerge very clearly in a survey published last week (Le Monde, 1 February 2000) which shows that 72 % of Belgian citizens have no faith in the judicial system in their country.

Moreover, there are elements that suggest that we cannot exclude the possibility of links between this affair and various other criminal cases which have characterised the Belgian scene over the last twenty years, and on which the Belgian police have not been able to cast any light.

I strongly believe that this affair, due to the extreme gravity of the crimes involved, its many implications, its duration and the context of impunity that surrounds it, deserves our full attention.

To this end, I have decided to circulate information on the issue: although only partial, I believe it can help to collocate the affair within a wider context, thus making the various hitches that have gradually led to a genuine cover-up more comprehensible.

I remain at your disposal for any further information, and invite you to let me know whether you would give your support to an initiative that the European Parliament could take with respect to this affair, and, more generally, with respect to the issue of the abduction and murder of children within the European Union.

Yours sincerely,

Olivier Dupuis