French Terrorist Leader Given Life Term in 1983 Slaying of 2 Policemen
A leader of the Direct Action leftist terrorist group, Regis Schleicher, 30, was convicted Saturday of complicity in the death of two policemen killed in a 1983 shootout and was sentenced to life in prison.
A second defendant, Nicolas Halfen, 24, was also convicted by the special seven-judge anti-terrorism court and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His brother, Claude Halfen, 31, was acquitted.
A previous attempt to bring Schleicher, 30, and the Halfen brothers to trial failed last December when Schleicher threatened the jurors in a courtroom speech with “proletarian justice.”
Five jurors withdrew over the next few days, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.
The defendants were retried under a new law providing for special non-jury courts of seven magistrates to hear terrorism cases.
The two policemen were shot to death May 31, 1983, in eastern Paris when they stopped a group of people carrying suspicious sacks.
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