TERRORIST ABDESLAM SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS
▶ Surviving Paris attacker convicted of attempted murder by Belgian court
The sole surviving Paris terrorist attacker, Salah Abdeslam, has been found guilty of attempted murder of police in Belgium and given the maximum 20-year sentence by the court.
Abdeslam exchanged gunfire with police in Brussels in March 2016 in a shoot-out that led to his arrest, four months after the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 people.
Neither Abdeslam, 28, nor co-accused Sofien Ayari, 24, who was also given a 20-year sentence, were in court to hear the ruling yesterday.
Abdeslam is being held in a French prison while he awaits trial for his part in the ISIS-inspired Paris attacks.
He attended the opening day of the trial in February but has refused to co-operate since.
Luc Hennart, the president of the Court of First Instance in Brussels, said Abdeslam and his accomplice could have been present for the verdict.
“It will not interfere with the procedure,” Mr Hennart said.
Abdeslam had claimed that the court was biased against Muslims.
“I am accused, so I am here. My silence does not make me a criminal or guilty,” he said on the first day of his trial. “That is my defence and I am defending myself by remaining silent.
“Judge me. Do as you want with me. It is in my Lord that I place my trust. I am not afraid of you.”
Abdeslam had been on the run for four months after the terrorist attacks.
His brother Brahim was one of the suicide bombers. Police hunting him carried out a raid in a flat in the Forest area of Brussels.
Three police officers were injured after a shoot-out with three occupants, one of whom was killed.
Abdeslam and Ayari, the other two occupants, escaped but fingerprints belonging to Abdeslam were found.
He was later discovered in the Molenbeek area of the Belgian capital and sent back to France.
Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, said it was unclear whether his client had fired the shots at officers trying to break into the flat.
“If there is doubt, he should have been let go. It’s that simple,” Mr Mary said.
The trial took place under tight security at Brussels’ palace of justice.
“As all our demands have been met, we can be satisfied, said Maryse Alie, a lawyer for the police.
“The judgment says that firing at policemen on duty is a very serious crime.”