Belgian justice

The BBC reports that a Belgian court has sentenced Nizar Trabelsi to 10 years in prison. The Tunisian is the key figure in a group of 18 Al-Qaeda members convicted of plotting to attack US troops on a military base in 2001.

A second Tunisian - Tarek Maroufi - was sentenced to six years in prison for organising the recruitment of al-Qaeda volunteers in Europe.
Another 16 suspects received shorter sentences for a series of lesser offences - and five defendants were acquitted.

The sentences look lenient to me but the BBC explains:

Correspondents say the relatively modest prison terms reflect the fact that Belgium has no specific anti-terrorism laws. Trabelsi was charged with attempting to destroy public property, illegal arms possession and membership in a private militia.

As far as Belgian law is concerned then: Trabelsi and his friends are not terrorists who plotted to murder US troops; they are vandals who wanted to damage public property, they just happened to have weapons and Al-Qaeda is nothing but a private militia.

Unbelievable.