130 people died in these attacks...
Twenty men were convicted on Wednesday in a special French Court session. The convicts were found guilty of the Islamic extremism terror attacks that occurred in 2015 on the Bataclan theatre, cafes in Paris and the national stadium of France. About 130 people were dead in these attacks.
The French court trialled the 20 men involved in the attacks over a course of 9 long months. On Wednesday, Presiding Judge Jean-Louis Peries read the verdict and sentenced the chief suspect Salah Abdeslam to life in prison without parole, which is one of the toughest sentences in France.
Salah Abdeslam, the 32-year-old mastermind behind the coordinated attacks on 13 November 2015 in Paris, will spend the rest of his life in prison. The other 19 convicts helped him plot the attacks.
Besides Abdeslam, out of the other convicts, 18 were arrested under various terrorism-related charges. However, one convict was booked for a minor fraud charge.
The 9-month-long trial marks the end of the longest criminal trial in post-war France. About 300 lawyers and 2000 plaintiffs were involved in the trial.
Although, Abdeslam pleaded with the court saying he apologises to the victims and begged for a rehabilitation chance. Abdeslam in his final appearance at court sincerely apologised to the victims saying, “I have made mistakes but I’m not a murderer, I am not a killer”. The trial was yet conducted in order to serve justice and ignored his weeps.
The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.