Lone surviving attacker in Paris massacre guilty of murder
Associated PressPARIS — The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists who terrorized Paris in 2015 was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. That’s why you have justice,” he said, even if “justice can’t do everything.” During the trial, Abdeslam initially proclaimed his radicalism but later appeared to evolve, weeping, apologizing to victims and pleading with judges to forgive his “mistakes.” For months, the packed main chamber and 12 overflow rooms in the 13th century Justice Palace heard harrowing accounts by the victims, along with testimony from Abdeslam. “I feel like I’ve grown up” thanks to the trial, said David Fritz Geoppinger, who was held hostage in the Bataclan. “It’s important as a victim to hear justice speak.” France was changed in the wake of the attacks: Authorities declared a state of emergency and armed officers now constantly patrol public spaces. Abdeslam apologized to the victims at his final court appearance Monday, saying that listening to victims’ accounts of “so much suffering” changed him, he said.
History of this topic
20 convicted in Paris terrorist attacks trial: Who they are
Associated Press
Key defendant in Paris attacks trial says assault that killed 130 was ‘nothing personal’
LA TimesDiscover Related
)
