Tipsheet

Could the Terrorist Behind the Bataclan Terror Attack Be Released From Prison?

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 21, 2026 8:30 AM

In 2015, several Islamic terrorists carried out a horrific attack in Paris, including at the Bataclan theatre, where more than 1,500 people were attending an Eagles of Death Metal concert. At Bataclan, terrorists had explosives and carried out mass shootings, eventually engaging in a stand-off with police. They brutalized the victims in the theatre, where 90 people died. Others were killed at cafes and other locations around Paris and nearby suburbs. Seven of the terrorists were either killed or committed suicide during the attack. By the end of the attacks, 130 people had died and more than 400 were wounded.

Now, one of the men who helped the attackers, Mohamed Bakkali, has just been granted penitentiary leave by the Brussels court, and he could soon be freed.

Bakkali was arrested in Belgium in 2018 and extradited to France. According to the BBC, Bakkali rented the Brussels apartment used by some of the attackers. As part of Bakkali's extradition, a Belgian court said Bakkali would have to serve any sentence in Belgium. Bakkali was also found guilty in for his involvement in an August 2015 terror attack on a Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam. He was sentenced to 25 years in jail for that, and another 30 years for Bataclan, although he would be eligible for parole after 20 years.

Here's more:

Mohamed Bakkali, convicted in France as a central figure in the logistics of the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people and injured hundreds more, has been granted multiple temporary prison leaves by a Belgian court.

The Brussels Tribunal d’Application des Peines (TAP) approved six penitentiary leaves of up to 36 hours each for the 39-year-old, a Moroccan-Belgian national who is serving his sentence in Ittre prison, a high-security facility in Walloon Brabant.

He has already benefited from several short permissions since July 2025.

Bakkali was sentenced in France to 30 years in prison for his role in the Paris attacks. The verdict was handed down in June 2022 at the conclusion of the so-called V13 trial, the longest criminal proceedings in modern French history, which involved 20 defendants over almost 10 months.

Prior to this, he received 25 years for his role in the foiled Thalys train attack in August 2015, when a heavily armed gunman boarding the high-speed service from Amsterdam to Paris was overpowered by passengers.

Simply incredible. Now we know why the Belgian courts wanted to jail Bakkali in Belgium instead of France.

The reports of atrocities committed by the terrorists, especially at Bataclan, are horrific. They include the mutilation and abuse of victims.

And the Brussels court is letting one of the masterminds out for good behavior.

Correct.

The Islamization of Europe continues.

Perhaps it is.

Never forget. Even if European authorities have.

This is not justice. It is an insult to the victims and sets the stage for more innocent people to be victimized.