A Belgian court in Antwerp has convicted ISIS terrorist Hicham Chaib of a terrorist murder in absentia. There are reports that Chaib is deceased, but that is unclear. While in Belgium, Chaib was part of Sharia4Belgium.
Hicham Chaib
Caption beneath photo: Hicham Chaib in Syria in 2014
Hicham Chaib found guilty of terrorist assassination in Syria
Updated: Wednesday, after two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury of the criminal court of Antwerp found Hicham Chaib (40), who was not present at the trial, guilty of the terrorist assassination of an unidentified prisoner in March 2016 in Syria
Staff- 27-October 2021, 18:34. Last updated: 19:46. Source: Belga.
The former figurehead of Sharia4Belgium was then part of the terrorist organization, Islamic State (IS). Images of the execution were spread on the internet a few days after the attacks in Brussels and Zaventem.
The 9-minute video surfaced on March 27, 2016. The attacks in Belgium were glorified, and in a monologue, Hicham Chaib took part in additional terror. At the end of the message, he killed the prisoner, dressed in orange and kneeling on the ground in front of him, with a bullet to the back of the head. The victim then received another bullet in the back. "The experts studied the video and concluded that the images were real and that the execution was not staged," the jury stated.
Former right-hand man of Fouad Belkacem
Before leaving for Syria, Hicham Chaib was the right-hand man of Fouad Belkacem, the leader of the terrorist group, Sharia4Belgium. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2015 in the trial against Sharia4Belgium, during the course of which, he had already absented himself, leaving for Syria.
Chaib risks life imprisonment
Aside from the terrorist assassination, Hicham Chaib also was found guilty of participation in the activities of the Islamic State and the threat of terrorist assassination, due to his threatening language toward the Belgian population in the execution video. Tomorrow/Thursday, the federal magistrate will request a sentence. Chaib faces a punishment of life imprisonment.
*Update (10-28-21) Chaib has been sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of his Belgian citizenship. Again, he was sentenced in absentia, and he is rumored to be dead though this is not confirmed.
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