2015 Belgium crash and killing of Anastas Qatos, 46: I was shot twice in the chest

Albanian Mikel Mehmetaj, 46 years old, has appeared before the Court of Cassation of Brussels under charges of murder and attempted murder. In the statements given by him, he claims that he shot to defend himself after being stabbed.

 "If I didn't go to the hospital or the police, it happened because I was afraid", the accused said before the Assistance Court of Brussels.

The 46-year-old Albanian is accused of murder and attempted murder after he shot two people outside a cafe on Rue de Malines in September 2015.

The jurors and the parties in the trial asked the accused various questions in the hearing that started on Friday around 3:00 p.m. Several jurors asked him for details about the gun he possessed and the injuries he said he suffered.

"Yes, I knew how to hold a gun, because there was a war in Albania", said Mikel Mehmetaj, adding "before I used the gun, I received two knife wounds in the chest. If I didn't go to the hospital or the police, it was because of fear, knowing where I came from, that is, from Albania".

The accused has also shown that he worked as a bodyguard for a person named Kristo, owner of the "Au DM" cafe, in front of which the events took place, foreign media report.

He said that he was paid several hundred euros per month for this task and that the gun he used to shoot the victims was Kristo's.

Meanwhile, according to the information and reports so far from foreign media, the court has not yet made a decision on Mikel Mehmetaj, as the trial will continue on Monday.

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On September 26, 2015 at around 08:20, a patrol from the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police area was called to gunfire in front of the "Au DM" cafe, rue de Malines in Brussels. A man, Anastas Qato, was lying on the ground. He had received several shells in the chest and died from his injuries. The latter's brother, Artani, was also seriously injured by gunfire.

According to certain testimonies reported during the investigations, the person named Vani, Mikel Mehmetaj, as well as Anastas and Artan Qato, all four of them worked in several cafes, including "Au DM", owned by the person named Kristo. It is suspected that these premises served especially to cover or justify the income from drug trafficking.

In January 2019, investigators identified a suspect based on information from Albanian authorities. It was Mikel Mehmetaj, known for drug trafficking. He was then hospitalized in Tirana hospital, after being injured by an assassination attempt.

On October 20, 2020, Mikel Mehmetaj was arrested in North Macedonia and then transferred to Belgium. He has confessed that he is the author of the shots that killed Anastas Qato and wounded Artan Qato and that he acted to defend himself after being stabbed.

"I didn't go for treatment in Brussels", he said, "and left for Albania".