July prison break accomplice behind bars

In Belgium, where officials have been embarrassed by questions concerning three prison breaks which occurred over just two weeks, authorities are now delighted to announce the arrest of three detainees and an accomplice who took part in the most spectacular escape on 23 July. On 11 August, Lesley Deckers, an accomplice and the girlfriend of one of the escaped prisoners was arrested in Beringen-Mijn, reports De Morgen. The 24-year-old Belgian woman who is a convert to Islam (the three escaped inmates were Moroccan nationals) has been charged with hiring a helicopter and stealing a car used for the escape. "Given that their chances of remaining at large were minimal," the Flemish daily wonders, "how desperate must they have perceived their situation to ignore the inevitable sanction of extra years in prison?" At the same time, the newspaper alludes to shameful "racist comments about the young convert" in the press, which had "nothing negative to say about a Belgian mother who helped her son to escape" on 28 Jul