Moroccan asylum-seeker gets life for Finland stabbing

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – A Finnish court has convicted a Moroccan asylum-seeker of two terror-related murders and eight attempted murders and given him a life sentence for a stabbing attack in southwestern Finland last year, in the first terror trial in the Nordic country.

The southern Finland district court said Friday Abderrahman Bouanane, an alleged sympathizer of the Islamic State group, was guilty of the Aug. 18 stabbing rampage in Turku.

Bouanane, who is in his early 20s, had pleaded guilty but denied committing a terrorist act as prosecutors had alleged. They said he was motivated largely by hatred after heavy bombardments by the Western alliance in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

A life sentence in Finland is on average between 12 and 20 years with most serving 14-16 years.