CARLOS THE JACKAL CONVICTED FOR 1980S FRENCH TERRORISTS ATTACKS

CARLOS THE JACKAL CONVICTED FOR 1980S FRENCH TERRORISTS ATTACKS

A French court has convicted the Venezuelan-born terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal of organising four deadly attacks in France in the 1980s and sentenced him to life in prison. He was handed the maximum sentence that had been requested by French prosecutors who had urged the court to find Carlos Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, 62, guilty of the bombings that killed 11 people and left nearly 150 injured.His lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, described the verdict as a 'scandal' and said he would appeal.Carlos first rose to prominence in 1975 when his commando group burst into the conference room where ministers from the powerful OPEC oil cartel were meeting in Vienna, taking 11 hostage.

His Paris trial dealt with four attacks that were seen as part of a private war Carlos waged against France to free two comrades, including his future wife, who were arrested in Paris while planning to attack the Kuwaiti embassy.French authorities received a letter, allegedly marked with Carlos's fingerprints, threatening 'war' if the pair were not released within 30 days.

                                                                     Prof. John Kurakar