 Lhermitte filed for and received a judgment of divorce before her trial ; Moqadem at first appealed the decision but later withdrew his objection . Following the trial , Lhermitte was not able to pay for the trial costs , so under Belgian law it fell to her now ex @-@ husband to pick up the bill . This conformed to the Law of Belgium , with the state seeking funds due to have been shared from the sale of their house under their divorce agreement . The overall court expenses and fines were 72 @,@ 743 euros ( about $ 93 @,@ 000 ) . Moqadem said he was “ disgusted and revolted ” by the injustice of this billing system . Moqadem ’ s attorney attempted to have the bill written off , calling for “ administrative requirements to be balanced by decency ” given the nature of the tragedy . 
