Brussels attack trial: Lengthy sentences handed down

A court in Belgium on Friday handed down lengthy jail terms to the men involved in the 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 people.

Belga news agency reported that six of the men who were found guilty of murder and attempted murder in July, were given sentences ranging from 20 years to life behind bars.

Sentencing concludes largest trial in Belgian history

The so-called "Islamic State" (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for the attacks which targeted the city's airport and a metro station.

The sentencing brings an end to the largest trial in Belgian history.

French citizen Salah Abdeslam, who was among those convicted in July, did not receive an additional term of imprisonment due to him already serving a sentence for his role in the 2015 Paris attacks which killed 130 people.

He was the only surviving member of the terrorist cell that targeted the Bataclan theatre and France's national stadium.

Following the massacre he fled to Brussels where he holed himself up in an apartment for four months. He was arrested just days before the Brussels bombings and was found to have co-authored the attack.

Three of those convicted received life terms, while two others were sentenced to 30 and 20 years imprisonment.

The trial began at the end of last year and was held under tight security at the converted former headquarters of the NATO military alliance.

kb/wd (dpa, Reuters AFP)