Bélgica: juicio a Marc Dutroux

Dutroux niega los cargos.

Amid heavy security, the trial of the alleged child murderer Marc Dutroux has begun in the Belgian town of Arlon.

Three other defendants, including Dutroux's ex-wife, are facing lesser charges. The trial could last up to four months.

This report from Chris Morris:

With a police helicopter hovering overhead and hundreds of officers on duty around the courthouse, Belgium is finally witnessing the trial of Marc Dutroux. It's eight years since he was arrested and charged with murder, rape, abduction and imprisonment; eight years since four girls died and two others were rescued from a basement cell. In court today, the defendant sat behind bullet-proof glass as the court prepared to swear in a jury.

Defence lawyers will argue that it's impossible for Marc Dutroux to get a fair trial in a country which has, in effect, already declared him guilty. He was he was just a pawn in the game, part of a much broader conspiracy. Many Belgians believe him. They point to police and judicial blunders as evidence that there's been a campaign to cover up the truth. But the prosecution says Dutroux and his accomplices worked on their own. They will argue that he is an evil man, responsible for the most horrific of crimes.

Chris Morris, BBC

hovering
esperando en el aire en un punto específico, sin avanzar

rape
violación

abduction
secuestro, rapto

bullet-proof
anti-balas

swear in
tomar el juramento

pawn
pieza

judicial
judicial

blunders
errores estúpidos

accomplices
cómplices