Crime

Masoudi brothers added to European most-wanted list

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Belgian federal police added Dutch brothers Samir and Youssef Masoudi, from Weert, to the Belgian and European most-wanted lists. The brothers were convicted in absentia by the Antwerp court of appeal and sentenced to eight years in prison each for a violent 2017 home robbery of an elderly couple in Bocholt, Belgium; they remain fugitives.

A single report said the couple were tied up and threatened, the man was assaulted and stabbed in the leg, and he died several months later. It also said the robbery yielded about €200 and jewellery. Their inclusion is part of a Europol campaign focused on fugitives convicted of serious crimes against vulnerable victims, and Belgian authorities are seeking information on their whereabouts.