Paris Attacks Accomplice Mohamed Abrini Faces Loss of Belgian Citizenship

Through an official statement, the federal prosecutor’s office indicated that the Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini will be sentenced to 15 years in prison in addition to being deprived of his Belgian nationality. The man nicknamed "the man in the hat" would be involved in the attacks carried out in Brussels in 2016. According to prosecutor Bernard Michel, he deserves life imprisonment, a sentence that has been imposed on him for the Paris attacks of November 2015. "In the face of such heinous acts, only life imprisonment can be described as proportionate. His sentence should not be reduced on the pretext that he was convicted in Paris," he insists.

The Belgian-Moroccans Ali El Haddad Asufi and Bilal El Makhoukhi, and the Belgian-Rwandan Hervé Bayingana Muhirwa, are also among the people involved in the attacks. They too will lose their Belgian nationality. In addition to the deprivation of Belgian nationality, the authorities intend to sever the legal and administrative ties of these people with Belgium. In other words, they will be banned from Belgian territory and will no longer have any social rights after the end of their trial.

The other Belgian-Moroccan who is also in the sights of the Belgian justice system is named Oussama Atar. He would be dead, but the Belgian authorities believe he is alive and should also be sentenced to life imprisonment. "There is no more serious crime than the one he committed in Brussels, especially after the Paris attacks of November 15, 2015, of which he was also the mastermind," said prosecutor