Two Men in Paris Charged for Alleged Connections to Brussels Soccer Match Shooter

Two men with alleged connections charged in Paris for forming a terrorist group and complicity in murder linked to the shooting of two Swedish soccer fans in Brussels; French prosecutors continue to probe the suspects' exact ties with the terminated Tunisian shooter Abdesalem Lassoued.

Two men suspected of connections with Abdesalem Lassoued, the gunman responsible for the deadly shooting of two Swedish soccer fans at a Brussels match, have been charged by a Paris judge for forming a terrorist group and complicity in murder.
Lassoued, a radicalized 45-year-old Tunisian, was fatally shot by police following the attack on October 16. Prior to the attack, he had escaped from a Tunisian prison where he was serving a lengthy sentence.
The French prosecution's formal investigation into a suspected 'criminal terrorist conspiracy' started after receiving information from the Belgian judiciary. The probe into the suspects' exact ties with Lassoued is still ongoing.
The suspects live in the Paris region. One of them, who vehemently denies the allegations against him, has resided in France for nearly 20 years and claims he could not have suspected his long-time friend, Lassoued, of such radicalization.
The shootings escalated ongoing discussions in Belgium regarding administrative and judicial missteps in tracking radicalized individuals, particularly within the immigration services. Lassoued had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in various nations, including Belgium, where he lived illegally after his application rejection in 2020.