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8 in Brazil sentenced for planning attack ahead of Rio 2016

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this July 21, 2016 file photo, a federal police agent leads a handcuffed suspect who authorities say was arrested on terrorism-related charges in Brasilia, Brazil. A judge in Brazil on Thursday, May 4 2017, sentenced eight men for planning an attack in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, marking the first time that a much debated anti-terror law formed the basis of a case in Latin America's largest nation. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - In this July 21, 2016 file photo, Brazil's Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes , speaks on the arrest of 10 people who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group on social media and discussed possible attacks during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, at the Ministry of Justice, in Brasilia, Brazil. A judge in Brazil on Thursday, May 4 2017, sentenced eight men for planning an attack in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, marking the first time that a much debated anti-terror law formed the basis of a case in Latin America's largest nation. When the men were arrested, then-justice minister Moraes, said some of them had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State without having personal contact with members of the terrorist group abroad. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE - I this July 21, 2016 file photo, Federal police escort suspects who authorities say were arrested on terrorism-related charges in Brasilia, Brazil. A judge in Brazil on Thursday, May 4 2017, sentenced eight men for planning an attack in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, marking the first time that a much debated anti-terror law formed the basis of a case in Latin America's largest nation. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) (The Associated Press)

RIO DE JANEIRO – A judge in Brazil has sentenced eight men to prison sentences for declaring allegiance to the Islamic State group online and planning an attack in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The 13 men were arrested in the high-profile operation in July, just weeks before the Olympic Games kicked off in Rio de Janeiro. Five were released a few months later.

The arrests were the first launched under a much-debated law that widened the scope of what could be considered terrorism in Latin America's largest nation.

Federal Judge Marcos Josegrei da Silva sentenced the men Thursday to between 6 and 15 years in prison.

The harshest penalty went to 33-year-old Leonid El Kadre, who authorities said was the group's leader. He got 15 years and 10 months.