BRUSSELS -- A Belgian court has sentenced the leaders of an extremist cell linked to the deadly attacks in Paris last year to up to 16 years in prison.
The court in Brussels jailed Marouane El Bali, the trial's star defendant, and two others for 16 years. A fourth man received an eight-year sentence.
In total, 16 people were convicted Tuesday for being members or leaders of a terrorist group. Some were also found guilty of planning attacks in January 2015. Nine of the defendants are still at large.
Belgian police stormed the suspected plotters' hideout in the city of Verviers, eastern Belgium, on Jan. 15, 2015, killing two men and arresting El Bali, 26, who surrendered.
