Paris attack suspect sentenced to 20 years

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Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect of the ISIL attacks on Paris in 2015, was sentenced to 20 years in jail on Monday by a Belgian court, after he was found guilty of attempting to murder a police officer during a shootout with Belgian police in Brussels in March 2016.

Neither Abdeslam nor co-accused Sofien Ayari, who Belga said was also found guilty, were in court to hear the ruling on Monday, but the judge continued to read the verdict regardless.

File photo of Salah Abdeslam /VCG Photo

In its judgment, the court said "there can be no doubt" about jihadist Salah Abdeslam and his co-defendant Sofiane Ayari's involvement in extremism.

Prosecutors had asked for 20-year jail terms for both.

Abdeslam is currently in a French prison awaiting trial for his role in the aforementioned ISIL attacks on Paris in November 2015.

(Top image: File photo of Salah Abdeslam in "Palais de Justice" courthouse in Brussels for the opening of his trial on Feb. 5, 2018. /VCG Photo)