Closing a Long Chapter

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A French court handed down prison terms Tuesday for eight individuals convicted for their involvement in the 2016 terrorist attack in Nice when an extremist drove a truck into crowds on the city’s Promenade des Anglais killing 86 and injuring more than 450, Agence France-Presse reported.

The individuals – seven men and one woman – were given sentences from two to 18 years for aiding Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel in organizing the attack during Bastille Day.

Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, was later shot dead by police. His body was reportedly repatriated to Tunisia in 2017 and buried in his hometown. Tunisian authorities have not confirmed this.

Following his attack, Islamic State claimed Bouhlel was one of its followers but investigators have not found any concrete links between Bouhlel and the terrorist group.

The 2016 attack closely followed other attacks in France by Muslim extremists, including the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo killings, and the November 13 attacks later that year on the Bataclan nightclub and other venues in Paris that killed 130 people.

Laurence Bray, one of the attack victims who attended the sentencing, said she was “very happy” that two of the suspects were sentenced to 18 years, more than the 15 years prosecutors had requested.

“But then again, for everyone who lost a loved one, 18 years is nothing,” she added.