Kidnapings Belgium

Two 8-year-old girls, whose bodies were unearthed by Belgian police as part of a growing child sex scandal, starved to death in captivity, investigators said Sunday. Discovery of the remains Saturday brought to seven the number of dead girls found after a series of disappearances in Belgium dating to 1989. Six other children are still missing, and two girls were rescued alive Thursday from a makeshift dungeon near Charleroi.

Belgian authorities filed new charges against Marc Dutroux--the chief suspect in a child sex, murder and kidnap scandal in which three girls and one woman died. Prosecutors in Neufchateau said Dutroux, a convicted child rapist, was now formally accused of the illegal incarceration and murders of An Marchal, 17, and Eefje Lambrecks, 19, and the rape of two teenagers who escaped alive. Dutroux is awaiting trial on previous charges, including the murder of an accomplice, kidnapping and theft.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, kidnaped a month ago, was freed after his family paid a ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars, officials said. Vanden Boeynants, 69, took a taxi home and called police after being released by his kidnapers in Tournai, 46 miles southwest of Brussels. Authorities said he was handcuffed on a bed and guarded by hooded men after being kidnaped Jan. 14 but was not otherwise mistreated.

Police investigating the kidnapping and murder of children detained 23 people after predawn raids, including nine police officers. The raids were the latest indication that police in the southern city of Charleroi may have helped cover up the alleged crimes of Marc Dutroux, accused in the murders of at least four girls and the kidnapping and sexual abuse of others.

The kidnapers of former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants sent his national identity card to a daily newspaper in Brussels with a hand-written pledge by him to pay a substantial sum to the poor. A group calling itself the Socialist Revolutionary Brigade said in an accompanying note to the Le Soir newspaper that the 69-year-old Christian Democrat will be freed after a $750,000 ransom has been paid.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants said Wednesday he spent his month as a kidnap victim hooded and handcuffed and never saw his captors' faces or heard their voices. Vanden Boeynants described the kidnapers who abducted him Jan. 14 as "professional criminals" interested only in money. He said they were well organized and operated with military discipline.

The lawyer of an alleged gang leader being hunted for the kidnaping of a former Belgian prime minister has been arrested on suspicion of masterminding the abduction, the prosecutors office said Friday. Michel Vander Elst, 41, was placed under arrest after nine hours of questioning on suspicion of being "the author, co-author or an accomplice in the kidnap" of Paul Vanden Boeynants, a spokesman said. Other accusations included extortion and forgery.

Belgian authorities filed new charges against Marc Dutroux--the chief suspect in a child sex, murder and kidnap scandal in which three girls and one woman died. Prosecutors in Neufchateau said Dutroux, a convicted child rapist, was now formally accused of the illegal incarceration and murders of An Marchal, 17, and Eefje Lambrecks, 19, and the rape of two teenagers who escaped alive. Dutroux is awaiting trial on previous charges, including the murder of an accomplice, kidnapping and theft.

It is a real-life mystery worthy of the fictional Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. One of Belgium's most popular politicians, two-time Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, was kidnaped Jan. 14 from his apartment building garage by a group calling itself the Socialist Revolutionary Brigade. But some people think maybe not. "Let's put it this way," said a non-European diplomat based here, "We have strong doubts that things happened the way they said."

Police investigating the kidnapping and murder of children detained 23 people after predawn raids, including nine police officers. The raids were the latest indication that police in the southern city of Charleroi may have helped cover up the alleged crimes of Marc Dutroux, accused in the murders of at least four girls and the kidnapping and sexual abuse of others.

Two 8-year-old girls, whose bodies were unearthed by Belgian police as part of a growing child sex scandal, starved to death in captivity, investigators said Sunday. Discovery of the remains Saturday brought to seven the number of dead girls found after a series of disappearances in Belgium dating to 1989. Six other children are still missing, and two girls were rescued alive Thursday from a makeshift dungeon near Charleroi.

The lawyer of an alleged gang leader being hunted for the kidnaping of a former Belgian prime minister has been arrested on suspicion of masterminding the abduction, the prosecutors office said Friday. Michel Vander Elst, 41, was placed under arrest after nine hours of questioning on suspicion of being "the author, co-author or an accomplice in the kidnap" of Paul Vanden Boeynants, a spokesman said. Other accusations included extortion and forgery.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants said Wednesday he spent his month as a kidnap victim hooded and handcuffed and never saw his captors' faces or heard their voices. Vanden Boeynants described the kidnapers who abducted him Jan. 14 as "professional criminals" interested only in money. He said they were well organized and operated with military discipline.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, kidnaped a month ago, was freed after his family paid a ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars, officials said. Vanden Boeynants, 69, took a taxi home and called police after being released by his kidnapers in Tournai, 46 miles southwest of Brussels. Authorities said he was handcuffed on a bed and guarded by hooded men after being kidnaped Jan. 14 but was not otherwise mistreated.

It is a real-life mystery worthy of the fictional Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. One of Belgium's most popular politicians, two-time Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, was kidnaped Jan. 14 from his apartment building garage by a group calling itself the Socialist Revolutionary Brigade. But some people think maybe not. "Let's put it this way," said a non-European diplomat based here, "We have strong doubts that things happened the way they said."

The kidnapers of former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants sent his national identity card to a daily newspaper in Brussels with a hand-written pledge by him to pay a substantial sum to the poor. A group calling itself the Socialist Revolutionary Brigade said in an accompanying note to the Le Soir newspaper that the 69-year-old Christian Democrat will be freed after a $750,000 ransom has been paid.