Belgian fugitive soldier found dead

The 46-year-old soldier disappeared on May 17th and was considered dangerous after stealing weapons from a military base. He was already on the list of potentially dangerous extremists because of extreme right-wing ideas, writes Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad.

Jürgen Conings’s partner is left with “double feelings” after the death of the fugitive soldier. “On one hand, she is relieved that there is finally clarity. On the other hand, she is completely in mourning about what happened,” her lawyer said on Belgian radio.

The Conings partner had addressed her partner directly in a video message last month. “Jürgen, if you’re still alive: don’t make victims, make sure the story ends,” she said then. “Make it stop. For me, for my family. Decide for yourself how, but make sure it stops.”

Mountain biking

The federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels previously reported that according to the first investigation results, Conings committed suicide with a firearm. Belgian authorities will release more information about the circumstances surrounding his death later. The man had taken weapons and ammunition from work before his disappearance. Since then, the authorities banned 12 soldiers with far-right sympathies from access to weapons depots.

Conings had made threats against virologists and the government, among others. With the discovery of his body, “five weeks of uncertainty and threat will come to an end,” according to Dedonder. The minister said that her condolences go out to the Conings family. He leaves behind a girlfriend with two children.

Dedonder also said that hard work is being done to resolve the identified problems in her department. “We will do everything we can to avoid such cases in the future and develop a clear policy on how to deal with extremism within Defence.” The intelligence supervisor is expected to issue a report on the Conings case at the end of June.

The body of Conings was found by Johan Tollenaere, the mayor of Maaseik. He told Belgian media that he noticed a corpse smell while mountain biking in a place where few people come and immediately called the police. In other parts of the large nature reserve in the Belgian province of Limburg, bordering the Netherlands, Authorities did several unsuccessful searches for Conings.

Sympathisers

After the news broke on Sunday that a body was found, about a hundred sympathisers of Conings held a vigil in the village of Dilsen-Stokkem. They went to Conings’ house to lay flowers and light candles.

The vigil was held “in memory of Jürgen, against the corrupt system in Belgium and the failure of Defence”. It was a quiet gathering, but with applause at Conings’ house. The soldier’s girlfriend received statements of support from sympathizers. Conings family also took part in the wake.