Paris suspect jailed over shots fired at police in Brussels raid
● Neither accused were present at the sentencing on murder bid charge
Paris terrorist attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam and an accomplice have been found guilty of attempted murder over shots fired at police they sought to avoid arrest in a Brussels suburb.
The court in Brussels handed both Abdeslam and Sofiane Ayari the maximum 20-year sentence.
It said the “terror character” was clearly established in the March 2016 shooting, four months after the Paris attacks that killed 130 in November 2015.
His lawyer Sven Mary said it remains to be seen whether Abdeslam, 28, will appeal. He has 30 days to decide. Mary insisted it is unclear whether Abdeslam himself had fired shots at officers trying to break into the hideout.
“If there is doubt, he should have been let go, it’s that simple,” Mary said.
Court president Luc Hennart said the two chosen otto attend the reading of the verdict and sentencing. Abdeslam attended the opening day of the trial in February but has refused to co-operate since. He is being held in a prison in northern France.
It is unclear when he will face trial over the Paris attacks, but it is believed it could take years.
The conclusion of the case at Brussels’ ornate palace of justice took place amid tight security.
Abdeslam was close to being arrested in a hideout when he and Ayari fled, while another man sprayed gunfire at police and was killed. Three officers were wounded.
“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.”
Ayari is a Tunisian who fought with the Islamic State group for a year before heading to Europe. By the time he and Abdeslam, a French national who was born in Brussels to French-moroccan parents, began hiding in the upstairs apartment in central Brussels, police had raided more than a dozen locations in Belgium with little to show for it.
On the afternoon of 15 March, 2016, they battered down yet another door in the Molenbeek district of the city. This time, it was to the staccato noise of an assault rifle. An IS fighter opened fire on the officers, who had only service weapons, while abdeslamand Ayari darted on to a rooftop, broke into a neighbouring apartment and escaped, authorities said.
The fugitives left behind a Kalashnikov, ammunition clips, a cellphone and a tunic – their DNA was everywhere, according to court testimony.
Three days later, Abdeslam was captured in Brussels. Four days after that, extremists struck in the Belgian capital, killing 32 people in bomb attacks at the airport and on the subway system.
Abdeslam’s exact role in the Paris attacks is unclear, but French prosecutors believe Abdeslam helped the jihadists by hiring cars, flats and hotel rooms.
He is believed to have told police that he had taken a suicide bomb belt, but it failed to go off and he dropped it in a bin. Militants targeted a concert hall, stadium, restaurants and bars, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds of others. His brother, Salim, was among the attackers and died when he blew himself up outside of a cafe.
Abdeslam is notoriously quiet, refusing to answer questions and barely speaking to French investigators. After appearing in court the first day, he refused to attend again, claiming it was biased against Muslims.
He said: “I am accused, so I am here. My silence does not make me a criminal or guilty. That is my defence and I am defending myself by remaining silent.”
However, he has reportedly responded to a woman who wrote to him in prison, telling her “I’m not ashamed of who I am”, according to reports.