Lone surviving attacker in Paris massacre guilty of murder, jailed for life
- Islamic State extremist Salah Abdeslam was given the most severe sentence possible for his role in the deadly 2015 bombings and shootings that killed 130 people
- A special French court also convicted 19 other men involved in the assault following a nine-month trial
The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists was convicted on Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history.
The special court also convicted 19 other men involved in the assault following a nine-month trial.
Chief suspect Salah Abdeslam was found guilty of murder and attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. The court found that his explosives vest malfunctioned, dismissing his argument that he ditched the vest because he decided not to follow through with his attack on the night of November 13, 2015.
Abdeslam, a 32-year-old Belgian with Moroccan roots, was given France’s most severe sentence possible.
Of the defendants besides Abdeslam, 18 were given various terrorism-related convictions, and one was convicted on a lesser fraud charge. They were given punishments ranging from suspended sentences to life in prison.
During the trial, Abdeslam proclaimed his radicalism, wept, apologised to victims and pleaded with judges to forgive his “mistakes”.
