A court in France on Friday sentenced a scientist at the prestigious Cern laboratory to five years in prison --with one year suspended-- after finding him guilty of plotting with an al-Qaeda member to carry out terrorist attacks in the European nation.
Adlene Hicheur was convicted of "criminal association with a view to plotting terrorist attacks" on Friday. He originally faced up to 10 years in prison for the charge, but received the reduced sentence on account of the two and a half years he has already behind bars while awaiting trial.
Hicheur, a physicist who was researching the origins of the universe at the Cern laboratory in Geneva, was arrested in October 2009 after police intercepted his emails to an alleged contact in al-Qaeda.
The intercepted emails between Hicheur and Mustapha Debchi, believed to be a member of al-Qaeda's north African branch, suggested that the physicist was willing to work in an "active terrorist unit" in France.
Police became suspicious of Hicheur when French President Nicolas Sarkozy received a threatening message from the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in early 2008. Subsequently, police carried out surveillance on a number of email accounts, including that of Hicheur. Later, police recovered a large quantity of al-Qaeda and Islamist militant literature in a raid carried out at his parent's house.
Although prosecutors described Hicheur as a "budding terrorist" in their earlier arguments, defense lawyers argued that their client was never a part of the alleged terror plot and that he did not have any intention of carrying out terror attacks as alleged.
Nevertheless, the 35-year-old Algerian-born scientist had admitted at the start of his trial that the exchange of emails took place during a psychologically "turbulent" time in his life when he was being treated for a slipped disc in his back. Hicheur also insisted that he never intended to carry out any terror attacks. He is now expected to appeal the verdict.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.