Belgian judge sentences Paris attacks suspect Abdeslam to 20 years over Brussels shootout

A Belgian judge has sentenced Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect in the 2015 Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) attacks in Paris, to 20 years in prison over a shootout with police in Brussels in 2016, Reuters reports. Abdeslam’s co-defendant, Sofien Ayari, also received on Monday a 20-year sentence for attempted terrorist murder. The lawyer argued that Abdeslam, 28, should be acquitted because of a procedural error. Prosecutors had charged him with attempted murder over the Brussels shootout in March 2016, days before his arrest, and called for a sentence of 20 years.