Belgian soldiers sentenced to prison

Six of the eight Belgian soldiers arrested last winter after a street fight in Åndalsnes have been found guilty of excessive force and sentenced to prison. They received sentences of 21 to 60 days in prison, state broadcaster NRK reported last week.

The other two were released by the local court in Møre og Romsdal, the mountainous region of central Norway where the Belgians took part in military exercises with Norwegian soldiers. However, a night out on the town during a weekend when they had been granted freedom resulted in a full-scale street fight in which at least four Norwegians were victims. Belgian officers apologized for their soldiers’ bad behavior, but the defendants were later charged.

The defendants claimed they acted in self-defense, but the court disagreed. The soldiers have already been in confinement before they were allowed to return to Belgium. They were ordered back to stand trial, where they were also found guilty of disturbing the peace.

NewsinEnglish.no staff