Court Sentences 5 Suspects to Prison for 2016 Belgian Terror Attack

A Belgian court on Friday sentenced five men to prison terms ranging from 20 years to life on charges of terrorist murder in connection with 2016 suicide bombings that killed 32 people and wounded hundreds at Brussels airport and a busy subway station, the country’s deadliest peacetime attack.

A chief suspect, Salah Abdeslam, had previously been given a 20-year sentence for involvement in a shootout days before the March 22, 2016, attacks and received no further jail time. The shootout happened after police discovered him and another suspect by accident when they inspected what they thought was an empty apartment. Four officers were hurt.

Abdeslam is serving a life sentence without parole in France over his part in attacks that hit Paris cafes, the Bataclan theater and France’s national stadium in 2015. Both the Paris and Brussels attacks were linked to the same Islamic State group network.

Read more: Voice of America