France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat) today called for a life sentence without parole to be handed down to Sala Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the group that carried out the Paris and Saint-Denis attacks in November 2015, which killed 130 people.
This sentence, which is rarely imposed, makes the chances of the 32-year-old Frenchman being released from prison at some point in the future very slim. Prosecutors are asking for it because of the seriousness of the charges and because, as Camille Hénetière explained, during the hearing, "despite the words, despite the tears, Salah Abdeslam remained faithful to the end to his ideology" and never expressed "the slightest remorse".
For Mohamed Abrini, who was also part of the group of perpetrators but regretted it on the evening of 13 November 2015 and returned to Belgium, the prosecution also asked for a life sentence, with the right of parole after 22 years. The same sentence was also sought for the group's "accountant" Mohamed Bakali, while life sentences with the right to parole at 30 years were proposed for Swedish Osama Krajem and Tunisian Sofien Ayari, who were "high-ranking members" of the jihadist group and are believed to have wanted to launch an attack on Amsterdam airport on the same day.
The prosecution has asked for sentences of between 5 and 20 years in prison for nine other defendants. For Ahmed Damani, who is imprisoned in Turkey and is being tried in absentia by the Special Court of Appeal in Paris, a sentence of 30 years has been proposed.
For the five accused Islamic State members also tried in absentia but believed to have been killed, the prosecution asked for a life sentence.
The court's verdict will be announced on June 29.
Source: APE-MPA
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