Dutch fugitive sentenced to life in prison for Belgian murder arrested in Croatia
A Dutchman convicted for a murder in Belgium and sentenced to life in prison was arrested in Croatia. Michel Z., 54, was arrested late last month and has now been extradited to Belgium, the Public Prosecution Service in Ghent told the Nieuwsblad.
In mid-December 2024, a Belgian court convicted Z. and five other Dutchmen for the drug-related assassination of 41-year-old Raouf Ben Alita in 2018. Z. and his brother used to sell old vans with hidden spaces for trafficking drugs. A conflict arose between them and Ben Alita in a deal for such vans, and they had him assassinated, according to the Belgian authorities.
The court sentenced Z. in absentia to life imprisonment. The other five suspects, including Z.’s brother, got sentences of up to 20 years.
A European arrest warrant was issued for Z. and that led to his arrest in a Croatian village near the Serbian border late in December. He is now in Belgian custody, where he can appeal against his life sentence should he wish to.
