Policeman Suspected of Providing Information to Terrorists Arrested in Brussels

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A policeman from Brussels' northern municipality Schaerbeek was arrested over charges of violating professional confidence, involving bribery, as he allegedly transferred information to a member of a terrorist group, local media reported Thursday.

According to La Derniere Heure newspaper, an investigating magistrate specializing in terrorist cases, detained a police officer on Monday, known as Momo, who allegedly contacted a terrorist group member via WhatsApp messenger, disclosing confidential information. The house of the suspect was also searched.

Momo might have transferred sensitive information to Yassine Attar, who has been serving a prison sentence since June for being a leader of a terrorist organization, the newspaper reported. Attar is the brother of Oussama Atar, the suspected mastermind of terrorist attacks, which took place in Brussels on March 22, 2016.

The Brussels prosecutor's office confirmed the detention of the police officer but not his alleged terrorist links.

"I can confirm that he was arrested and he was accused of violating professional secrecy. I cannot confirm any links to terrorists," the prosecutor's office's press service told Sputnik.

The Belgian police have increased their counterterrorism activity following the terrorist attacks at Brussels' airport and metro station in 2016, which left over 30 people dead and more than 300 injured. As many as 372 terror suspects were arrested in Belgium in 2016.