FILE - A woman is evacuated from the Bataclan concert hall after a shooting on Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - The lawyer for the only surviving attacker from the November 2015 terrorist massacre in Paris criticized her client's murder conviction and life prison sentence without the possibility of parole, saying Thursday the verdict 'œraises serious questions.'ť
Olivia Ronen did not say if Salah Abdeslam would appeal the verdict and sentence. He has 10 days in which to do so.
Abdeslam was found guilty Wednesday of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise, among other charges, over his involvement in the Islamic State attacks on the Bataclan theater, Paris cafes and France's national stadium that killed 130 people.
Ronen argued throughout the marathon trial of Abdeslam and 19 other men that her client had not detonated his explosives-packed vest and hadn't killed anyone the night of the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history.
Nevertheless, Abdeslam, a 32-year-old Belgian, was given the most severe sentence possible in France for murder and that 'œraises serious questions," Ronen said in an interview with public radio station France Inter.
During his trial testimony, Abdeslam told a special terrorist court in Paris that he was a last-minute addition to the nine-member attacking squad that spread out across the French capital on Nov. 13, 2015, to launch the coordinated attacks at multiple sites.
Abdeslam said he walked into a bar with explosives strapped to his body but changed his mind and disabled the detonator. He said he could not kill people 'œsinging and dancing.'ť
The court found, however, that Abdeslam's explosives vest malfunctioned, dismissing his claim that he decided not to follow through with his part of the attack because of a change of heart.
The other eight attackers, including Abdeslam's brother, either blew themselves up or were killed by police. Abdeslam drove three of them to the locations of the attacks that night.
The worst carnage was in the Bataclan. Three gunmen burst into the venue, firing indiscriminately. Ninety people died within minutes. Hundreds were held hostage - some gravely injured - for hours before then-President Francois Hollande ordered the theater stormed.
Abdeslam was nowhere near the Bataclan at any time that night, defense lawyer Ronen said, suggesting he therefore did not deserve France's most severe murder sentence possible.
'œWe have condemned a person we know was not at the Bataclan as if he was there,'ť Ronen said. 'œThat raises serious questions.'ť
The chief prosecutor at the special terrorism court Jean-Francois Ricard said the trial of the 20 extremists, the court's verdicts and sentences, including the harshest one for Abdeslam, were a 'œtriumph for the rule of law'ť in France.
'œAbdeslam dropped off three human bombs and killed by proxy,'ť Ricard said on Thursday in an interview with another public broadcaster, France Info. 'œHis punishment is just.'ť
The sentence of life without parole had only previously been given four times in France, for crimes related to rape and murder of minors.
The special terrorism court also convicted 19 other men involved in the attacks. Eighteen were given various terrorism-related convictions, and one was convicted on a lesser fraud charge. Some were given life sentences; others walked free after being sentenced to time served.
Abdeslam apologized to the victims at his final court appearance Monday, saying that listening to their accounts of 'œso much suffering'ť changed him.
Georges Salines, who lost his daughter Lola in the Bataclan, felt Abdeslam's remorse was insincere. 'œI don't think it's possible to forgive him,'ť he said.
But for Salines, life without parole is going too far.
'œI don't like the idea of in advance deciding that there is no hope,'ť he said. 'œI think it is important to keep hope for any man.'ť
___
Surk reported from Nice, France. Associated Press writers Alex Turnbull, Oleg Cetinic and Masha Macpherson in Paris contributed to this report.
Lawyers and trial goers gather outside the court house after the verdict in Paris Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
FILE - This undated image made available by Belgium Federal Police shows Salah Abdeslam, the leading suspect and the only surviving member of the nine-member attacking team that terrorized Paris, in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (Belgium Federal Police via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - A victim under a blanket lays dead outside the Bataclan theater in Paris, Nov. 13, 2015. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - An investigator works outside the Bataclan concert hall, Nov. 14, 2015 in Paris. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
The Associated Press
Lawyers and other people queue outide the special court room Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in Paris. The lone survivor of the Islamic State extremist team that attacked Paris in 2015 has proclaimed his radicalism, wept, apologized to victims and pleaded with judges to forgive his "mistakes." For victims' families and survivors of the attacks, the trial for Salah Abdeslam and suspected accomplices has been excruciating yet crucial in their quest for justice and closure. The court will hand down its verdict Wednesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
Salah Abdeslam's lawyers Olivia Ronen, right, and Martin Vettes arrive at the court room Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in Paris. Over the course of an extraordinary nine-month trial, the lone survivor of the Islamic State extremist team that attacked Paris in 2015 has proclaimed his radicalism, wept, apologized to victims and pleaded with judges to forgive his "mistakes." For victims' families and survivors of the attacks, the trial for Salah Abdeslam and suspected accomplices has been excruciating yet crucial in their quest for justice and closure. At long last, the court will hand down its verdict Wednesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
FILE - Sept.8, 2021 file sketch shows key defendant Salah Abdeslam, right, and Mohamed Abrini in the special courtroom built for the 2015 attacks trial. Salah Abdeslam is one of 10 attackers who set out Nov. 13, 2015 wearing explosives vests for a series of coordinated attacks. For charges including terrorist murder and kidnapping, he faces up to life in prison. For charges including complicity to terrorist murder, Mohamed Abrini risks up to a life sentence. A total of 20 people are facing a verdict Wednesday June 29, 2022 over the 2015 Paris attacks by Islamic State extremists that killed 130 people. (Noelle Herrenschmidt via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - A woman pays respect to the victims, outside the Bataclan concert hall, which was a site of last Friday's attacks, in Paris, Nov. 17, 2015. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Rescue workers tend to victims outside a cafe in Paris, Nov. 13, 2015. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, file)
The Associated Press
Salah Abdeslam's lawyers Olivia Ronen, right, and Martin Vettes arrive at the court room Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in Paris. Over the course of an extraordinary nine-month trial, the lone survivor of the Islamic State extremist team that attacked Paris in 2015 has proclaimed his radicalism, wept, apologized to victims and pleaded with judges to forgive his "mistakes." For victims' families and survivors of the attacks, the trial for Salah Abdeslam and suspected accomplices has been excruciating yet crucial in their quest for justice and closure. At long last, the court will hand down its verdict Wednesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
Police officers walk past the the special court room in Paris Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
Lawyers and trial goers gather outside the special court room after the verdict in Paris Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
FILE - A person is evacuated after a shooting, outside the Bataclan theater in Paris, Nov. 14, 2015. The historic trial in Paris of 20 men suspected of critical roles in the Islamic State massacres that killed 130 people in 2015 has ended this week with verdicts against the defendants in France's worst peacetime attack expected on Wednesday June 29. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
The Associated Press
Arthur Deouveaux survivor of the Bataclan attack and president of life for Paris association speaks to the media after the verdict in Paris Wednesday, June 29, 2022. The lone survivor of a team of Islamic State extremists was convicted Wednesday of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2015 bombings and shootings across Paris that killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attacks in French history. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press