Brussels 2016 attacks trial to resume on November 30

The trial for the 2016 Brussels attacks will resume on November 30, a Belgian court said on Friday, after being delayed to replace controversial glass boxes intended for the accused, including French jihadist Salah Abdeslam.

Defence lawyers had argued that they could not freely consult with their clients and requested that the cubicles be removed, which a judge agreed to, ruling that they violated European law.

Nine alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group cell that launched both the March 2016 suicide bombings in Belgium and the November 2015 attacks in Paris face terrorism charges.

The Belgian attacks, in which three suicide bombers targeted Brussels airport and a crowded underground metro station, killed 32 people and shattered the lives of hundreds of wounded or traumatised survivors.

A tenth suspect, the suspected planner of the terror campaign, is presumed killed and will be tried in absentia.

The trial is the largest ever staged in front of a Belgian jury, with 960 civil plaintiffs represented and the sprawling former headquarters of the NATO military alliance converted into a high-security court complex.

The investigation quickly revealed, with the help of a computer found in a rubbish bin, that the perpetrators of the Brussels attacks were linked to those responsible for the attacks that left 130 dead in Paris.