Twenty men who committed a series of deadly shooting and bombings across Paris, France in November, 2015 have been convicted for their roles in the attacks.
Per the New York Times, the sole surviving member of the ISIS terrorists who carried out the attacks has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Salah Abdeslam was found guilty of all the charges against him, which included murder and various terrorism-related charges.
The court said that Abdeslam played a major role in the attacks, which took place on the evening of November 13 and concluded in the early hours of the following day. The 32-year-old was arrested four months after the massacre, and initially refused to cooperate leading up to the trial. He told authorities on the first day of the trial that he was a “fighter for the Islamic State.”
Over the course of the trial, he stressed the attacks were a response to French-led airstrikes in Syria. He asked victims for forgiveness, but failed to renounce ISIS ideology. His suicide belt, which was recovered by authorities, showed that he did not carry out an attack because his suicide belt malfunctioned.
137 people, including seven attackers, died during the attacks, which took place across six different locations in Paris. A total of 416 people were also injured in the attacks, which included four suicide bombings.
The 19 other defendants, who have been accused of intending to participate in the attacks or providing help to those who did, have also been found guilty of the majority of charges they faced. Charges included being accomplices to murder and hostage-taking, and taking part in a terrorist conspiracy. The trial first started 10 months ago, and the sentences against the other defendants range from two years in prison to life behind bars.
