Salah Abdeslam sentenced to life in prison over role in Paris attacks that killed 130

THE only surviving terrorist Salah Abdeslam from the gang that killed 130 people in Paris will die in prison after he was convicted of participating in the horror rampage.

Salah Abdeslam was found guilty on Wednesday and given France’s toughest sentence—life in prison without the chance of parole—as he is thought to be the only surviving member of the group that is responsible for a string of fatal gun-and-bomb attacks throughout Paris in November 2015.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the assaults, which took place in numerous locations across the French capital, including pubs, restaurants, a concert venue, and outside of the famous Stade de France, where a soccer match was taking place. The attacks resulted in 130 deaths and 494 injuries.

The 32-year-old Abdeslam was found guilty on all five of the counts with which he was charged. Since the death penalty was reinstated in France in 1994, he is only the fifth person in the country to be given a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Abdeslam was the only defendant accused of physically carrying out the bloodiest attacks that France has ever witnessed in peacetime. Despite the fact that he was one of 20 individuals on trial, he was the only defendant accused of doing so.

The remaining defendants were charged with less serious offenses, such as assisting the attackers in acquiring weapons or vehicles through their actions. Six were tried for their crimes while absent.

19 of the accused were found to be guilty on all charges, while the last accused individual, Farid Kharkhach, was found guilty of a lower offense than the one he was initially charged of. The sentences handed down to the remaining 13 offenders in the courtroom ranged from two years to thirty years, depending on the severity of their offenses.

It did not appear as though Abdeslam was responding to his sentencing. After hearing his decision, Kharkhach, who was given the least severe punishment, broke down in tears.

According to the French Ministry of Justice, the verdicts are the climax of a lengthy trial that began on September 8, 2021 and involved more than 330 lawyers and over 1,800 civil parties. In total, the trial lasted for more than three years. The hearings were held in a courtroom that had been constructed specifically for the occasion, located within the Palais de Justice in the heart of Paris.

During the trial, first responders gave testimony in which they described the horrific events that they had experienced at the Bataclan concert hall as well as at clubs and restaurants located all across the city. Those who survived the attack described their frantic attempts to conceal themselves from the attackers, while the family members of those who were slain recalled how their fear transformed into sorrow when they discovered that their loved ones had been slaughtered.

Abdeslam, who was detained in 2016, made his first public statement early on in the trial, declaring himself firmly to be “a soldier of the Islamic State.” His statements angered some survivors, who interpreted his words as a threat, and the trial was moved forward.

Abdeslam later sent an apology to the families of the victims and stated that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

He claims that he made the decision not to explode his explosive vest and, on the final day of hearings in the case, he pleaded with the judge not to give him a heavy sentence. He added, “I made mistakes, it’s true, but I’m not a murderer, I’m not a killer.”

Following the conclusion of the protracted court process, a number of those who survived the tragedy as well as the relatives of those who passed away are trying to go on with their lives.