Belgian Lower House Committee Approves Night Police Anti-Terror Raids

A Belgian lower house parliamentary commission aprroved the draft law that introduces a resolution on wiretapping suspected arms traffickers and provides for the creation of a single data bank on Belgian citizens who go to war in Syria and are suspected of links with terrorist organizations.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – A Belgian lower house parliamentary commission on Tuesday approved a draft law envisaging the right for police to conduct counterterrorist raids and special operations round the clock, rather than at specific hours during daytime, local media reported.

The current legislation prohibits police searches between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., with limited exceptions.

According to the Belga news outlet, the draft law introduces a resolution on wiretapping suspected arms traffickers and provides for the creation of a single data bank on Belgian citizens who go to war in Syria and are suspected of links with terrorist organizations. The data bank would reportedly be available to police and special services.

The bill needs to be approved by the upper house of the parliament to come into force.

The reports come a week after deadly terrorist attacks shook Brussels. On March 22, two suicide blasts ripped through the Brussels Zaventem international airport’s departure hall. Another explosion occurred at the Maelbeek metro station near where the EU institutions are located in the city center. A total of 35 people died in the attacks.