Belgian assassination trial opens

Only five of the eight suspects turned up for the trial

Five men accused of organising the murder of former Belgian deputy prime minister Andre Cools have gone on trial in the city of Liege.

Cools, a former Socialist leader regarded as a kingmaker in Belgian politics, was shot dead outside his girlfriend's house in a suburb of the city in 1991.

Two Tunisians were sentenced to 25-year jail terms in Tunisia for the actual killing five years ago.

However, it has never been firmly established who was behind the murder.

The investigation into the killing revealed a series of corruption scandals that led to four ministerial resignations, as well as that of Nato secretary-general Willy Claes.

I would quite like to explain myself in front of the tribunal but I fear that that would serve no purpose and that I'll end up carrying the can Domenico Castellano Suspect

The murder remained a mystery for several years, before an anonymous informer accused another Liege-based socialist, Alain Van der Biest, and several associates of arranging the killing.

Van der Biest protested his innocence, but the accusations against him led him to commit suicide in March last year.

Years of legal wrangling have meant that the case took years to come to court.

Eight other suspects have now been summoned to trial, but only five appeared in the dock.

Domenico Castellino, one of the three who failed to appear, said he would not leave Italy to face trial.

"I would quite like to explain myself in front of the tribunal but I fear that that would serve no purpose and that I'll end up carrying the can," he told journalists.