Three Muslim extremists who were arrested in the Netherlands and France in 2016 have been sentenced to 24 years in prison in Paris. They had one large arsenal of weapons and explosives, presumably to commit an attack on the European Football Championship in France that same year.
The trio has now been found guilty of gun possession and planning one or more terrorist attacks. The judge does not consider it proven that they specifically aimed at the European Championship.
Two days after ‘Brussels’
On March 24, 2016, two days after the jihadist attacks in Brussels and 2.5 months before the start of the European Championship, the police came across the weapons stock in an apartment in a suburb of Paris. The house was rented by the radicalized Frenchman Réda Kriket.
In addition to Kriket, two other main suspects were on trial, including the Frenchman Anis Bahri who was arrested in Rotterdam at the request of the French police. In the house in Rotterdam-West where Bahri was staying, a large batch of ammunition was also found, including more than 3,700 cartridges for Kalashnikovs. In August 2016, Bahri extradited to France. The third main suspect to be convicted is Abderrahmane Ameuroud, a terrorist of Afghan descent previously convicted in France.
Two accomplices of the three main suspects were sentenced to twelve and eight years in prison.
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