A jury has found six people guilty of terrorist murder for attacks in Brussels in 2016 that killed 32 people and were claimed by the Islamic State group, in Belgium’s deadliest peacetime violence, according to Belgian media.
Among those convicted for their role in the suicide bombings at Brussels’ airport and a subway station was Salah Abdeslam, who already is serving a life sentence without parole in France over his role in attacks that hit Paris cafes, the Bataclan theatre and a French stadium in 2015.
The verdict was reported by public broadcaster RTBF, newspaper Le Soir and news websites HLN and Nieuwsblad.
The chief judge read out the verdict and explanations by the 12-person jury, who made a clear connection to IS and its extremist ideology.
Sentencing will be decided in a separate process, not before September.
In total, 10 defendants were on trial.
Two brothers were acquitted of all charges.
The other eight were convicted of participating in activities of a terrorist group; six of those eight were also convicted of terrorist murder.
The biggest trial in Belgium’s judicial history unfolded over seven months in a special court to address the exceptional case.
A makeshift memorial in front of Brussels’ Stock Exchange in the days after the triple bomb attack in 2016. Photo: Getty
Survivors and families of victims hoped the trial and verdict would help them work through what happened and find closure.
The morning rush hour attacks on March 22, 2016 at Zavantem Airport and on the Brussels subway’s central commuter line deeply shook the city, which is home to the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, and put the country on edge.
In addition to the 32 people killed, nearly 900 others were wounded or suffered serious mental trauma.
Jamila Adda, president of the Life4Bruxelles victims’ association, gathered a group of survivors at the special courthouse to hear Tuesday’s verdict.
Among them was a man named Frederic, who said the “atrocious crimes” of March 22 still haunt him.
“We have been waiting for this for seven years, seven years that weighed heavily on the victims… We are waiting with impatience, and with some anguish” for the verdict, he told the Associated Press.
Frederic, among the commuters who survived the attack at the Maelbeek metro station, spoke on condition that his last name not be published to protect his identity as a victim of trauma.
Survivors have supported each other through the proceedings, some coming every day.
“It is important to be together, to hear the decision of justice,” Frederic said.
And then, they hope “to be able to turn the page”.
The 12 jurors had been deliberating since early July over 300 questions the court asked them to consider before reaching a verdict.
