On Wednesday, a lawyer for Rachid Benomari confirmed that his client will appeal the sentence that was handed down by the Brussels criminal court on Tuesday, sentencing his client to 18 years in prison on terrorism charges. Lawyers for the other two defendants in this case, Mohamed Said and Mustapha Bouyahbaren, also announced that they will also appeal the sentence. The three men were convicted of terrorist acts after joining, Al-Shabab militia in Somalia in 2011 and 2012.
The court also convicted both Mohamed Said and Mustapha Bouyahbaren to five years in prison, suspended for exceeding 37 months. These two were also convicted of taking part in terrorist acts.
Rachid Benomari, Mustapha Mohamed, and Said Bouyahbaren left Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on April 15th, 2011, to join the Al-Shabab jihadist fighters in Somalia.
They were arrested in Kenya on July 4th, 2013 and had been incarcerated for almost a year for staying in the country illegally.
They were subsequently extradited to Belgium in April where they had been sentenced in absentia prior to appealing the sentence.
(Source: Belga)
