Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced his resignation on Friday, four days after a Tunisian migrant living illegally in the country killed two Swedes in Brussels.
At a press conference, Van Quickenborne stated that Tunisia had requested the extradition of Abdesalem Lassoued on August 15 last year, but this request had not been followed up, according to Wion news report.
Lassoued, 45, fatally shot two Swedish football fans and injured another. He was later shot dead by the police in a cafe.
“This is an inexcusable error which has had dramatic effects,” Van Quickenborne told reporters. “I want to take full political responsibility for this,” he added, as he announced his resignation.
The Minister further apologized to the victims, their loved ones, the Swedish people, and Belgian citizens on behalf of the justice system.
The 45-year-old attacker, who called himself Abdesalem Al Guilani in a social media video, had unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium in 2019.
He was known to Belgian police for involvement in smuggling people into Britain.
The attacker targeted Swedes who were in Brussels to watch a European championship qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described it as a “brutal terrorist attack.”
The motive behind the attack appeared to be related to Koran burnings in Sweden, rather than the conflict between Israel and Hamas.