Salah Abdeslam, the sole survivor of the 10-man cell responsible for the November 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release on Wednesday. Abdeslam, a French citizen born in Brussels, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a series of bombs and gunshots throughout Paris that killed 130 people and wounded over 490.
Abdeslam was found guilty on all five charges on which he was accused, making him the fifth person in France to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole since it was legalised in 1994.
The verdict occurred during one of the largest criminal prosecutions in French history, and Abdeslam was the last surviving member of the terrorist gang, since nine others either committed suicide or were shot by police since the Islamic State-backed series of assaults in Paris on November 13, 2015.
According to sources, Abdeslam told the jury this week,
I’ve made mistakes, but I’m not an assassin. I’m not a killer. If you convict me for murder, you will be committing an injustice.
My first words are for the victims. I have already said sorry. Some will say my apologies are insincere, that it is a strategy … more than 130 dead, more than 400 victims, who can apologise insincerely for so much suffering?
Image Credits: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/GETTY IMAGES
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He should stay in jail for the rest of his life, not just 30 years. Too dangerous for any society.