A Brussels French-speaking criminal court on Tuesday sentenced six young men over an attempted abduction in Brussels in March 2025. The men were also convicted of being part of a criminal group and of possessing prohibited weapons and ammunition, including a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle.
Prosecutors had asked the court to impose prison sentences of three to five years on the defendants, whom the Office of the Public Prosecutor described as “fairly young.”
The court handed down suspended sentences of three to four years’ imprisonment to five of the men and sentenced a sixth to four years’ imprisonment without parole.
One of the six defendants is currently serving in the army and asked the court to suspend the ruling or impose a community service sentence, but the court rejected the request.
On a separate charge, the court convicted one of the men of stealing a license plate used on the vehicle the group used to transport the weapons from Brussels-South station to Evere. The court lacked sufficient evidence to convict the other five on that charge.
In giving its sentence, the court pointed to the growing sense of insecurity among people in Brussels, the danger posed by the weapons and ammunition seized during the investigation, and the risk of physical and psychological harm linked to handling firearms.
The judge also highlighted the defendants’ young age, the criminal records of some, their lack of self-reflection, and what the court described as vague, unconvincing explanations given during the trial.
