MP3 suspect extradited to Belgium

Joe Van Holsbeeck was stabbed five times in the chest

A Polish teenager has been extradited to Belgium to face trial over the killing of a Belgian youth who refused to give thieves his MP3 player.

The murder of Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17, at Brussels central station on 12 April shocked Belgium and brought thousands of protesters onto the streets.

The suspect, aged 17, will face charges of stabbing the youth to death. He says he is not guilty of the killing.

Another suspect, a Polish-born youth of 16, has been arrested in Brussels.

The two arrests at the end of April came after a joint operation between Belgian and Polish police.

Public outcry

Last week a Polish appeal court ruled that the 17-year old suspect, who was identified as Adam G, should be extradited to Belgium within 10 days.

"Polish police have handed over the suspect to Belgian police officers at the Okecie airport [Warsaw's international airport]," a police spokesman in Warsaw told the Associated Press news agency.

Joe Van Holsbeeck was with a friend at the station during evening rush-hour when he was stabbed five times in the chest after refusing to hand over his digital music player.

The case provoked a public outcry and led to the 80,000-strong demonstration in Brussels against urban violence.

Police used CCTV images to track down the attackers.

They arrested the 16-year-old Polish youth in Belgium soon afterwards. The 17-year-old was arrested in north-eastern Poland on 27 April.