http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/internati ... e-in-courtLeader of Jihadist organization sentenced to 12 years in prison
Trial ends for 46 people alleged to be part of Sharia4Belgium, which seeks to impose Sharia law in Belgium
"Belkacem is responsible for the radicalization of young men to prepare them for Salafist combat, which has at its core no place for democratic values," the judge said. "Sharia4Belgium recruited these young men for armed combat and organised their departure for Syria."
Prosecutors had filed terrorism charges against 46 members of the group in total but only nine were present for the five-month trial, with the rest believed to be in Syria.
Security was tight at the court for the verdict, which came a month after two suspected militants were killed in Belgium during a huge anti-terror operation.
32-year-old Belkacem, a Moroccan-born car engineer, is a Salafist ideologue known for preaching streets sermons, as well as circulating his messages online.
He is already serving a two-year sentence for inciting hatred against non-Muslims.
Investigators said Belkacem never traveled to Syria, unlike most of the members of the group, but he was the “catalyst” who prompted many to go and fight there.
Sharia4Belgium, based in Antwerp, campaigned for the introduction of Sharia Islamic law in Belgium.
In 2012, it said it was disbanding but the authorities suspect that it has continued to recruit dozens of volunteers to fight in Syria.
The Sharia4Belgium trial, which began in September, came five months after a deadly attack on the Jewish museum in the center of Brussels raised fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe and of terror strikes from foreign fighters returning from Syria.
The main suspect in the attack which left four people dead is a French-Algerian, Mehdi Nemmouche, who spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria.
It is estimated by the EU's INTCEN intelligence center that more than 3,000 European citizens are fighting so-called jihad, and more than 10% of those come from Belgium, a higher percentage than any other country.
I don't know who these Belgians think they are to be putting these lads on trial. I'll bet there were Belgians who fought in The Crusades.
