A court in France has sentenced a scientist at the Cern nuclear laboratory to five years in prison for plotting terrorist attacks.
Adlene Hicheur, 35, was arrested in 2009 after the police intercepted his emails to an suspected contact in Al-Qaeda.
The emails suggested Hicheur was willing to be part of an active terrorist unit, attacking targets in France.
Hicheur, who is a particle physicist, worked as a researcher studying the origins of the universe at Cern. He has already spent two and a half years in prison while awaiting trial.
The BBC reports Hicheur has not yet decided whether or not to appeal.
