Brussels shoot-out: Terrorism suspect sentenced to 20-year in prison

Terrorism suspect Salah Abdeslam has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted murder, after participating in a 2016 police shoot-out in Brussels, local media reported on Monday.

The 28-year-old Frenchman is thought to be the only survivor of a group of terrorists who orchestrated attacks across the French capital in November 2015, leaving 130 people dead.

Monday’s verdict was handed down to Abdeslam and one other man, Sofien Ayari.

The case centred on a police raid in March 2016 during which one terrorist suspect, Mohamed Belkaid, was killed and several police officers injured.

Abdeslam and Ayari escaped the apartment during the shoot-out.

They were subsequently arrested in a hideout in a Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek.

The two men, who were both sentenced in absentia, were found guilty of attempted murder of the police officers in a terrorist context and got the maximum penalty of 20 years.

According to the report, Abdeslam remains in custody in France, where he is awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015.

However, he has one month to appeal the Belgian court’s decision.

Report says if Belgium asks for his extradition to serve his currently-announced sentence, he would be handed over only after completing his prison sentence in France if convicted for the terrorism charges there.

Abdeslam was Europe’s most wanted man before his arrest in Brussels on March 18, 2016, four days before terrorist attacks on the Belgian capital killed 32 people.

He has been linked to the alleged perpetrators in the Brussels attacks, but has not been named as a suspect.