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A French court has sentenced an Algeria-born nuclear scientist to five years in jail for plotting terrorist attacks with Al-Qaeda's north African affiliate. Adlene Hicheur, who worked at the prestigious European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), was arrested in 2009 after police intercepted his emails to an alleged contact in Al-Qaeda. The emails suggested Hicheur was willing to be part of an 'active terrorist unit', attacking targets in France , The BBC reports. After his arrest in 2009 police found a large quantity of Islamist literature at his parents' home. At the start of his trial Hicheur, 35, admitted that he had been going through a psychologically 'turbulent' time in his life when he wrote the emails. His Defence lawyers have, however, argued that their client had never been part of a plot. According to the report, Hicheur has already spent two and a half years in jail while awaiting trial.

France jails CERN nuke scientist for role in Al-Qaeda terrorist plot