Melchior Wathelet
| Melchior Wathelet | |
|---|---|
| Minister-President of Wallonia | |
|
In office 11 December 1985 – 3 February 1988 |
|
| Preceded by | Jean-Maurice Dehousse |
| Succeeded by | Guy Coëme |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 March 1949 Petit-Rechain |
| Political party | Humanist Democratic Centre |
| Alma mater |
University of Liège Harvard University |
Melchior H. M. J. F. C. Wathelet (born 6 March 1949) is a Belgian politician and member of the Humanist Democratic Centre. He has degrees in law and in economics (University of Liège) and is a Master of Laws (Harvard University). He is also a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and the Université de Liège. From 1995 to 2003 he was a Judge at the European Court of Justice. Since October 2012 Wathelet serves as advocate-general at the Court of Justice.
As Justice Minister he had, according to David Canter, "encouraged the early release of many sex offenders" which included Marc Dutroux, a convicted child molester and subsequent serial killer. This particular release resulted in the European Parliament calling for his resignation.
Wathelet was himself implicated as being part of an organised child abuse ring by two separate witnesses in the aftermath of the Dutroux case; Regina Louf, (an alleged victim of organised child abuse and prostitution), and Pascal Willens, (a Belgian Psychologist working with two young abuse victims aged 8–10 years).
Louf's entire testimony was later discredited by the Belgian authorities despite various other corroborative witness statements and her knowledge of specific facts about cases which at the time were known only to the police.
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