Seven jailed for life over shootings in Tunisia

SEVEN people have been jailed for life following a trial over two 2015 terror attacks in Tunisia which killed 60 people, including some from Yorkshire.

Samir Ben Amor, a lawyer for one of the 44 defendants, said the verdicts were handed down over a massacre at the popular Sousse resort and another attack on the country’s famous Bardo Museum.

Thirty Britons were killed in the mass shooting in Sousse which left 38 people dead, while another UK citizen died in the Bardo assault, which killed 22.

Other defendants received jail terms ranging from six months to 16 years, while the charges against 27 of the suspects were dismissed, according to Mr Ben Amor.

None of the defendants received the maximum penalty of capital punishment for charges that included premeditated murder, threatening national security and belonging to an extremistlinked group.

The prosecution has said it will appeal against the verdicts.

Police say the defendants denied having participated directly in the March and June 2015 attacks during their questioning, but several of them acknowledged having provided logistical assistance.

In June in the coastal city of Sousse, attacker Seifeddine Rezgui walked onto the beach of the Imperial Hotel and used an assault rifle to shoot tourists, killing 38 people. Police killed Rezgui about 15 minutes later.

Christopher and Sharon Bell, 59 and 54, from Leeds, were both shot dead close to the hotel swimming pool.

Bruce Wilkinson, 72, from Goole, East Riding, a retired worker at Drax power station, was also a victim, together with Claire Windass, 54, from Hull.

The so-called Islamic State has previously claimed responsibility for the attacks.