A Belgian court convicted the leader of an Islamist group and several of his followers on terror charges Wednesday for sending jihadist fighters to Syria, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told CNN.
Fouad Belkacem, the leader of the Sharia4Belgium group, was jailed for 12 years by the court in the city of Antwerp, spokeswoman Fabienne Nackaerts said.
Nackaerts said other members of the group had also been convicted.
Belgian authorities last month carried out a series of counter-terror raids on suspected jihadist cells amid fears that they were plotting an imminent attack on Belgian soil.