Belgian police officers stand at the French-Belgian border | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Convicted terrorist who ‘beheaded heretic’ on the loose in Belgium Brussels judge ignores calls for terrorist to be arrested over phone call confession.

A convicted terrorist who was caught on tape admitting he beheaded "a heretic" is still on the streets, according to Belgian newspaper reports on Monday.

Iliass Khayari, 25, was convicted for being part of a terrorist group in Brussels last week. He was given a five-year prison sentence — half of it suspended — but the judge said Khayari did not have to go to jail immediately and could go free until the appeals process is completed, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. That process could take months.

After his conviction, the newspaper revealed details of a bugged phone call in which Khayari said he beheaded a man for being “a heretic" while fighting for Islamic State in Syria.

“He is an enemy of Allah. That’s why I beheaded him,” Khayari is alleged to have said.

Despite being urged by the federal prosecutor to arrest Khayari over the confession in the call, the judge refused.

An investigation into the alleged beheading has been opened.