Belgium: 8 Convicted Of Murder, Terrorism Charges In 2016 Brussels Bombings Case That Killed 32

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> A Belgian court has convicted six men of murder and two others of terrorism charges in connection with the 2016 Islamist bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people, after the country's largest-ever criminal trial.</p> <div class="group w-full text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100 border-b border-black/10 dark:border-gray-900/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]"> <div class="flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto"> <div class="relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]"> <div class="flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3"> <div class="min-h-[20px] flex items-start overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words flex-col gap-4"> <div class="markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light"> <p>The high-profile pair, French citizen Salah Abdeslam and Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini, who have already been sentenced to life in jail by France for their involvement in the 2015 Paris terror attacks, were among the six accused found guilty of "murder linked to terrorism" for their roles in Belgium's deadliest peacetime assault.</p> <p><span class="selectable-text copyable-text">On the morning of March 22, 2016, two explosions hit the Brussels Airport and the third bomb struck the city's metro, which killed at least 32 people.</span></p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-2">They and two others were also convicted of participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation. Two men were acquitted.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-3">Separate hearings to determine sentences will be held in September.</p> <p>Among those convicted was Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the trial over the Paris attacks that killed 130 people. On the run after fleeing the French capital, he was seized in Brussels four days before the Belgian attacks.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-9">Others found guilty included Mohamed Abrini, who went to Brussels Airport with two suicide bombers but fled without detonating his suitcase of explosives, and Swedish Osama Krayem, accused of planning to be a second bomber on Brussels' metro.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-10">Oussama Atar, seen as the group's leader and presumed to have been killed in Syria, was also convicted.</p> <p class="text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__full_width__ekUdw body__small_body__2vQyf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-12">The 12 jury members reached a decision on Monday after two weeks in isolation at the end of a seven-month trial at the former headquarters of NATO specially set up to host the Brussels bombings trial.</p> <p>The bombings -- near the headquarters of both NATO and the EU -- were part of a wave of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group in Europe.</p> <p>The court on Tuesday formally boosted the death toll from the attacks from 32 to 35, after finding a link between the trauma suffered and the deaths of three more people subsequently.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>