Eight people have been convicted for their role in a truck attack more than six years ago by an Islamic State sympathizer that killed 86 people celebrating July 14 in Nice.
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was shot dead by police after driving his truck at full speed through a crowd watching a fireworks display on July 14, 2016.
The attack on Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais killed 86 people, including 15 children, and injured 450.
The eight defendants, seven men and one woman, were found guilty of helping him orchestrate a terrorist attack and the judge handed down prison terms ranging from two to 18 years.
The judge’s verdict follows more than three months of testimony from survivors of the attack.
Prosecutors agreed that not all of them had a clear connection to terrorism or knew what Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had planned.
The couple most closely associated with Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, Mohamed Ghraeib and Chokri Chafroud, were found guilty of terrorism charges and given the longest sentences of 18 years.
The prosecution said the two had “an intense relationship” with Lahouaiej-Bouhlel as Ghraieb had known the attacker for 15 years and had 1,278 telephone communications with him in a year.
Ghraieb’s attorney, Vincent Brengarth, said his client would appeal.
Survivors of the attack hailed the judge’s verdict and called it a “small victory”.
Caroline Villani said: “It won’t bring back my family, my mother, my son, but it’s a small victory that feels good.”
Photos and names of the 86 victims of the attack
None of the defendants were charged with taking part in the attack or even being an accomplice – a decision survivors said they struggled with.
Islamic State said it carried out the attack days after it happened, but offered no evidence that the attacker, who had a history of domestic violence and petty crimes, had direct contact. with the group.
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Other defendants who were sentenced on Tuesday reportedly knew the author’s plans more vaguely, such as Ramzi Arefa.
Arefa was found guilty of selling a weapon to the attacker when he apparently did not know of his terrorist intentions. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The truck massacre follows deadly attacks in Paris at the Bataclan theater and other sites in France and Belgium orchestrated by the extremist group.
