After more than 150 hours in a secret location, the jury, in the largest trial in France since World War II, was ready to hand down the verdict The main accused Saleh Abdeslam (32) is the only survivor of the ten who attacked in Paris on 13 November 2015 He was found guilty of terror and murder and sentenced to life in prison. Salah Abdeslam has to spend the rest of his life in prison. Photo: AP Abdeslam has previously explained that the attacks on IS in Syria were the cause, and France and ordinary French were the target. “We inflicted the same pain on France as we did,” he said in court in September. At the same time, he denied having killed or injured anyone in the attack. According to the indictment, the terrorist survived because he failed to detonate the bomb belt he was carrying around his waist. He had his belt thrown off and fled the scene. The court did not believe Abdeslam’s explanation that he changed his mind at the last minute and even broke his belt. – The court assumes that the trigger mechanism did not work, said the judge Jean-Louis Périès. A court drawing shows Salah Abdeslam standing in front of several of the other defendants. Photo: BENOIT PEYRUCQ / AFP Largest attack since the war 130 people were killed in the French capital in half an hour. The massacre began when jihadists blew themselves up outside the Stade de France national stadium, where France played an international match against Germany. Then armed terrorists drove through the streets of the French capital. They shot at guests sitting on the terraces in front of the cafes and restaurants in the city. There were unusually many people out on a mild and nice autumn evening. The biggest attack took place at the Bataclan concert arena where the American group Eagles of Death Metal held a concert. Here the attack lasted a long time. People hid, while others fled for their lives. Facts about the terrorist attacks in Paris Armed men raided six different places in Paris on the evening of Friday 13 November. 130 people were killed and 351 injured, 98 of them seriously. Bataclan Concert Hall: 89 people were killed when three perpetrators stormed the venue an hour into the concert with the American band Eagles of Death Metal and shot around them. Two of the attackers blew themselves up when police stormed the premises. The third was shot by police. Stade de France football stadium: Three suicide bombers and a passer-by lost their lives in three explosions at the stadium. La Belle Equipe restaurant: 19 people were killed when perpetrators opened fire from a black seat. Le Petit Cambodge Restaurant and Le Carillon Bar: At least 15 people were killed when the attackers fired on the restaurant and bar. According to witnesses, they arrived in a black Seat Leon. Pizzeria Casa Nostra: Five people were killed when assailants fired at the restaurant. Here, too, the perpetrators came in a black seat. A suicide bomber struck on Boulevard Voltaire, near Bataclan. One person was seriously injured. * The last of the 130 victims died from hospital injuries on November 20. All but one of the perpetrators, Salah Abdeslam, were killed or blown up during the operation. (NTB) Over 400 people were injured that night. IS later reported that they were behind the attack. A total of 20 people have been indicted, but only 14 of them have appeared in court. Five of the accused are considered dead, while the last is in prison in Turkey. All but one were found guilty by the court of all charges. The alleged mastermind behind the operation, Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed by French police five days after the attacks. The brutal and very systematic terrorist attack shocked France and it built up into a sea of flowers at the affected places. Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP Specially built court During the many months in the courtroom, more than 2000 witnesses have testified. They have told of horrific scenes, full of blood and death, but also of humanity and heroism where people have helped and supported each other. A specially built courtroom with 500 seats has been filled day after day for almost ten months. In 15 other halls, there was video transmission to those who could not fit in the main hall. 300 lawyers have represented 1765 relatives and victims. The interest in the verdict was at least as great. Relatives, members of the press and others waited in line for hours to enter the courthouse. In the middle of the sentencing, the internet connection crashed and delayed the reading of the sentences. A specially built courtroom was ready when the trial started in September. Photo: Francois Mori / AP In prison for the rest of his life The prosecutor had filed a claim for the law’s most severe punishment for the only survivor of the attackers, Salah Abdeslam. And Abdeslam was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. Although life imprisonment without probation is the maximum penalty in France, it is still very unusual for someone to be sentenced to prison without the possibility of release. Life imprisonment usually comes out of prison after 20 or 25 years. Press, relatives and police outside the courthouse after the verdicts had been handed down on the evening of Thursday 29 June. Photo: Michel Euler / AP Swedish citizen also convicted The 19 others have been charged with having helped the perpetrators in various ways. By, for example, having participated in the planning or procured weapons or cars. One of them is the Swedish citizen Osama Krayem. He is also under investigation in Sweden for war crimes committed in Syria. In an interview with Belgian police several years ago, Krayem denied involvement in the Paris attacks, even though fingerprints from him were found in the apartment where the bombs used during the attacks were made. He and two others were sentenced to 30 years in prison, where a minimum of two-thirds of the sentence must be served before any probation. The other defendants who have so far received their sentences have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 22 years. Several of them are already imprisoned, including in Belgium, for participating in other terrorist acts.
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