After a seven-month trial, a Brussels court Tuesday found six of the ten accused guilty for bomb attacks that killed 32 people at Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station in March 2016.
Eight of the ten were also convicted of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Two defendants were acquitted of all charges, said the court in its ruling this evening as reported by Belgian news agency, Belga.
Six have now been found guilty of terrorist murder and attempted murder: Salah Abdeslam, Oussama Atar, Osama Krayem, Mohamed Abrini, Ali El Haddad Asufi and Bilal El Makhouki.
Atar is the only defendant to be tried in absentia. He was suspected of directing the attacks from his base in Syria and has now been found guilty, but is believed to have been killed in an airstrike in 2017, noted the agency.
Three defendants were acquitted of terrorist murder. They are Sofien Ayari, Herve Bayingana Muhirwa and Smail Farisi.
Furthermore, the court ruled that the names of three more victims should be added to the list of those killed. This brings the official death toll to 35, up from the 32 on record until now. The three additional victims died in the months and years following the attacks.
Source: Kuwait News Agency