Who is the 'Man in White'? Belgium authorities embarrassingly release Brussels' main terrorist attack suspect

Faycal Cheffou was accused of siding with terrorists.

Belgian prosecutors named local filmmaker Fayçal Cheffou the third suspect involved in the Brussels airport terrorist attack that occurred last week - then discovered there was absolutely no evidence to support the arrest.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the New York Times, Eric Van der Sijpt, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor's office, identified Cheffou as the "man in white" caught on the surveillance image captured on Tuesday, which shows him walking alongside the two known suicide bombers, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui, prior to the suicide bombings at Brussels' Belgian Zaventem airport.

The federal prosecutor's office released a statement saying Cheffou was arrested on Thursday and charged with "involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist killings and attempted terrorist killings."

According to Brussels law, Cheffou was sent to stand before a judge to receive a warrant within 24 hours of his arrest and has since been held in police custody.

When police searched his home, there was no evidence of weapons or explosives of any kind.

After three days in police custody, Cheffou was finally released.

Thierry Werts, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor, released the following statement: "The evidence that had led to the arrest of the man named Fayçal C. was not confirmed by the evolution of the ongoing investigation. Consequently, he has been freed by the investigative judge."

Cheffou was originally picked out of a police photographic lineup by a taxi cab driver who drove Bakraoui and Laachraoui to the airport - along with one other man.

Belgium's Foreign Office spokesman Didier Van Der Haefelt, told NBC News: "The international coordination is very intense. You have only to look at the recent arrests."

Of the several suspects who have been detained for further questioning, Cheffou was the federal prosecutor's best lead.

In an embarrassing display of shoddy police work, another suspect, who was only identified as Rabah N., was the victim of mistaken identity as officials picked him up under the impression he was another suspect identified as Salah A.

Rabah N. was accused of having connections to another suspect, Reda Kriket. Bernard Cazenueve, the French interior minister, stated Kriket was a participant in the later stages of planning an attack in France and is believed to be a jihadist.

Kriket is well-known to security forces in France and Belgium and was named in court alongside Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was behind the Paris attacks.

Though Kriket is a known threat, officials have yet to determine whether he participated in either the Paris or Brussels airport attacks.

Another detainee, Abderamane A., who has a history of working with Tunisian suicide bombers and an Afghan and Pakistani network suspected of training jihadists near Paris, has spent seven years in prison and was shot then brought in for questioning in relation to the airport suicide bombers attack.

The final suspect, Aboubaker A., was held and charged for participation in a terrorist group. No other currently detained suspects or wanted men have been named.

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