Prison leave under scrutiny after killings

Attack spotlights European jails as the hotbed of radicalism

LIEGE, Belgium/BRUSSELS - Authorities sought to deflect questions on Wednesday over the furlough of a convicted criminal, known to have been radicalized in jail, who killed three people in the city of Liege.

Just hours after his release, the man named by Belgian media as Benjamin Herman killed two policewomen and a bystander on Tuesday before being gunned down in what officials said was a terrorist attack. Police also suspect the 36-year-old of the murder of a former associate found dead at his home.