Finnish Court Sentences Moroccan Man Over 2017 Turku Knife Attack

A Finnish court sentenced 23-year-old Abderrahman Bouanane, a terrorist who carried out a knife attack in Turku's market square, to life in prison.

"District Court of Varsinais-Suomi has today sentenced Mr. Abderrahman Bouanane to life imprisonment for two murders with terrorist intent and eight attempted murders with terrorist intent," the court said in a statement.

In Finland, a life sentence means at least 12 years in prison.

On August 18, 2017, two people were killed and eight others injured in a knife attack in Turku's market square. The prime suspect became Abderrahman Bouanane, a 23-year-old man of Moroccan origin.

Rescue personnel cordon the place where several people were stabbed, at Turku Market Square, Finland August 18, 2017

Mourners bring memorial candles and flowers at the Market Square in Turku, Finland August 19, 2017.

Memorial candles and flowers are placed to commemorate the victims of Friday's stabbings at the Turku Market Square, in Turku, Finland August 19, 2017

According to the National Bureau of Investigation, Bouanane applied for asylum in Finland in the first half of 2016 and resided first at the Pansio Reception Centre in Turku and later in a private residence in Turku.