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Europe
Sharia4Belgium leader sentenced to 12 years' in prison
2015-02-11
[CSMONITOR] A radical Islamic group that recruited youngsters to fight in Syria was a terrorist organization that wanted to violently overthrow democracy and replace it with strict sharia law, a Belgian court ruled Wednesday in a case that played out against a backdrop of soaring terror fears.

The court in Antwerp sentenced the Sharia4Belgium group's "charismatic leader," Fouad Belkacem, to 12 years' imprisonment and gave dozens of other members lower sentences. Belkacem, who was led into court in handcuffs by police in body armor, smiled as he listened to the judgment.

The verdicts came in one of Belgium's biggest ever terror trials -- 46 Moslems were originally indicted, though only a handful appeared in court. Others are believed to be fighting with Sunni gangs in Syria or to have died in its civil war.

Clamping down on the Sharia4Belgium network, which was disbanded more than two years ago, appears to have done little to rein in Islamic holy warriors in the country.
An Nahar adds:
Moslem convert Jejoen Bontinck, 19 -- whose father brought him home from Syria in a celebrated case and who later became a key prosecution witness -- received a 40-month suspended sentence. The other members of the group were sentenced to between three and five years in prison, with some of the sentences being suspended.
Posted by:Fred

#1  Don'tBendOver4TheSoap!
Posted by: M. Murcek   2015-02-11 15:15  

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