Fayçal Ghelam, 47, was today sentenced by the Criminal Court of Liège to 12 years in prison for participating as a leader in the activities of a terrorist group. The man played a leading role in the Islamic State (IS) terror group. He was charged with, among other things, carrying out the most severe punishments, such as beheadings.
In addition to a fine of 40,000 euros, he was deprived of his rights for 20 years and the court pronounced the deprivation of Belgian nationality.
Fayçal Ghelam was described by the federal prosecutor as a terrorist of the first hour. The defendant of Algerian origin arrived in Belgium in the 1990s and radicalized in 2010 with reference to Osama Bin Laden. In 2012, he took his 12-year-old daughter to Egypt for terrorist combat training. He later joined IS in Syria.
Beheadings and other punishments
According to the federal prosecutor’s office and State Security intelligence, he was withdrawn from the battle early on in order to take a central role in the organization. After IS declared the caliphate on June 24, 2014, he held the functions of police officer of the courts and tribunals of the terrorist organization from July 2014 onwards. His job was to carry out the most severe punishments, such as beheadings, or to carry out interrogations.
The man also had an important network of acquaintances and his departure was financed from Belgium. He was received by emirs of the Islamic State and his brother-in-law was director of an arms factory.
Also read: Our reporter chatted with IS women in Syria for two years: “Leaving was the dumbest decision of my life” (+)
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