Eight people were convicted in connection to a truck attack that took place six years ago in Nice by an Islamic State sympathizer. The attack killed 86 people who were celebrating Bastille Day.
Police shot Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel after he drove through large crowds of people watching fireworks on July 14, 2016, at top speed.
Nice’s Promenade Des Anglais, a famed boardwalk, was attacked and killed by 86 people, including 15 children. 450 other victims were also injured.
Seven men and one woman were convicted of conspiring to orchestrate a terrorist attack. The judge sentenced them to sentences ranging between two and 18 years.
After more than three months’ worth of testimony from survivors, the judge rendered his verdict.
Prosecutors acknowledged that not all had a direct connection to terrorist acts or knew what Lahouaiej Bouhlel was planning.
Mohamed Ghraeib, Chokri Chafroud and Lahouaiej–Bouhlel were the most closely related. They were convicted on terror charges and received the longest sentences of 18 year.
Both had “an intense relationship” to Lahouaiej Bouhlel, as Ghraieb had been with the attacker for 15-years and had 1,278 phone conversations with him within a year.
Vincent Brengarth was Vincent Ghraieb’s lawyer and he said that his client would appeal.
The judge’s decision was welcomed by the survivors of the attack and they described it as a small victory.
Caroline Villani stated that “it won’t bring back my family, my mum, or my son, but it is a small victory which feels good.”
None of the defendants were accused of participating in the attack, or of complicity. This decision was disputed by survivors.
Islamic State claimed that the attack was carried out a few days later, but did not provide any evidence that the attacker, who had a history of domestic violence and other petty crimes had had direct contact.
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2015 Paris Attacks: An Islamic State fanatic is sentenced to death in prison
Others who were convicted Tuesday of the same offense were believed to have known more about the plans of the perpetrator, like Ramzi Arefa.
Arefa was convicted for selling the attacker a weapon, despite allegedly not knowing about his terrorist plans. He was sentenced to a 12-year term.
After the terrorist group’s attacks on Paris’ Bataclan Theatre and other locations in France and Belgium, the truck massacre was also carried out.