REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BRUSSELS -- A criminal trial relating to Belgium's worst rail disaster in half a century could be delayed, because of an argument about what language should be used, local media reported on Sunday.
Nineteen people were killed and 162 passengers were injured when two trains collided in February 2010 in the Brussels suburb of Halle, where Dutch is the official language.
According to La Libre Belgique newspaper, the driver of one of the trains, charged with manslaughter, is from the French-speaking south of the country and will plead next week for the proceedings to be held in French instead of Dutch.
His lawyer, Maitre Antoine Chome, told the newspaper: "My client is from Wallonia (the French region of Belgium). He does not speak Dutch and I really do not understand why the local prosecutor is refusing to hand the case to a French-speaking magistrate."
He added, "Doing so would also be in the interests of the victims and their relatives who have registered as plaintiffs, as the majority of them are French-speakers as well."
La Libre Belgique reports that if the request is granted, the trial could be delayed by several months while all the documents are translated, including a 400-page report into the crash.
The Belgian rail operator SNCB and infrastructure operator Infrabel will also answer charges of manslaughter when the case reaches court, La Libre Belgique added.
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