Abdeslam gets 20 years for attempted murder
Terrorist suspects Salah Abdeslam and Sofien Ayari have been found guilty of attempted murder in a terrorist context by a Brussels court
On to France
Flanders News reports that Sofien Ayari, also involved in the shoot-out with police, has also received a 20-year sentence, the maximum possible in the case. Neither of the men appeared in court.
Abdeslam (pictured) is the only surviving suspect who was in Paris at the time of the terrorist attacks in November of 2015. He is a French national who was living in Brussels, where he planned the attacks.
An international manhunt for Abdeslam followed, but it took until March before police located several suspects in Vorst. A chase and shootout ensued, but Abdeslam escaped. He was ultimately arrested a few days later in Molenbeek.
Three days after his arrest, suicide bombers blew themselves up in Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station in the EU district. Thirty-two people were killed and hundreds injured. Abdeslam’s arrest is believed to have triggered the attacks in Brussels.
Abdeslam will now go on to be tried in France for his part in the Paris attacks.
Photo courtesy Het Nieuwsblad
This article was updated at 12.30 the day of publication
