BRUSSELS, March 1 Kyodo The Court...

BRUSSELS, March 1 Kyodo

The Court of Arlon onward Monday began the trial, commonly known as ''the trial of the century'' in Belgium, of Marc Dutroux who is accused of killing and raping at least six girls, and his companions.

It is unclear however whether or not he acted for a network which sold children for prostitution.

Dutroux was arrested Aug. 13 1996 At the time of his arrest, he was hiding pair little girls aged 13 and 11 whom he had allegedly kidnapped a week and almost three month earlier, respectively.

He held the sum of two units girls captive in the cellar of his abode The girls were place alive. He has been accused of raping Slovakian girls.

Belgian investigative authorities also allege that he and his wife were also responsible for the deaths of four more girls. pair of them, Julie and Melissa, the two 8 at the time, were kidnapped in June 1995

After having been cruelly violated, these girls were believed to have been starved to death in a cage that Dutroux built in his house near Charleroi, southward of Brussels.

In August 1995 the authorities said, Dutroux kidnapped An and Eefje aged 17 and 19 at the Belgian coast. He took them to his house, mistreated and sexually abused the two before killing them as well.

After his arrest, the Belgian public reacted earnestly accusing the court of justice and the police of serious mistakes. An estimated 300000 nation participated in a ''White March'' rally in Brussels to indicate their solidarity with the assassinate victims and their families and demand transparency from the government

Witnesses came to the fore speaking about networks in which prominent Belgian politicians were allegedly involved, and accusing politicians of blocking a fair trial. There has not been clear-cut evidence to experience such accusations, however.

The case has effectively changed the way of working of justice in Belgium. Police mode of buildings have been reformed and organizations were fix up to protect children's rights and safety.

Now, Dutroux and his since divorced wife Michelle Martin, accomplice Michel Lelievre and Michel Nihoul stand for court in Arlon, the southern Belgian to face charges of sexual abuse and torturing and killing four of the girls.

Dutroux is also accused of killing an accomplice whom Dutroux in cast now accuses of murdering the girls.

Dutroux managed to escape for an hours from his highly secur prison small room in March 1998, forcing brace ministers to step down from one side of to the other the escapade.

He had to be wakened according to one of his lawyers Monday morning because he apparently malicious asleep while a civilian jury of 12 randomly chosen civilians was being selected

The whole dossier takes 450,000 pages.

The verdict is look fored in about three months' time after all 486 witnesses, including at least united of the surviving victims, testify.

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