On March 22, 2016, suicide bombers detonated two explosives at the Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station, close to the European Parliament and European Commission buildings. Belgian officials at the time described it as a “black day.” The Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the attacks, part of a wave of terrorist violence that hit major European cities.
One of those convicted of terrorist murder was Salah Abdeslam, who had already been serving a life sentence in France for his role in the November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people at a theater, a stadium and cafes. He was the only extremist who survived those attacks and was arrested only days before the Brussels bombings.
Of the 10 people facing charges in the Brussels attacks, eight were convicted of terrorist group activities, with six of them additionally convicted of terrorist murder. Two brothers were acquitted.
Those convicted of murder in a terrorist context included Brussels native Mohamed Abrini, a childhood friend of Abdeslam, and Oussama Atar, who is thought to have died and was tried in absentia, reported local news outlet HLN. Others are Osama Krayem, Ali El Haddad Asufi and Bilal El Makhoukhi. Several of the men had already been sentenced in the Paris attacks.
The defendants will be sentenced at a later date, officials said.
