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| Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam appears before French judges | Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam appears before French judges |
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| Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris attacks in November, has appeared before French judges on charges of murder and being part of a terrorist organisation. | |
| The 26-year-old French national was flown by helicopter from Belgium, where he was arrested last month, to Paris on Wednesday accompanied by an elite squad of gendarmes, and was questioned by anti-terrorist police before his appearance at the Palais de Justice. | The 26-year-old French national was flown by helicopter from Belgium, where he was arrested last month, to Paris on Wednesday accompanied by an elite squad of gendarmes, and was questioned by anti-terrorist police before his appearance at the Palais de Justice. |
| His lawyer, Frank Berton, said Abdeslam had been too tired to answer questions but had said he would cooperate with the investigation. Berton said his client had been taken from his cell in a high-security Belgian prison very early in the morning, and described the transfer as “muscular”. | |
| “He had close and numerous protection officers and, even if he is not complaining and is not the kind of boy who complains, it’s obvious the transfer from Belgium to France was very rapid,” Berton said. | |
| “He said today that he would rather not answer questions because he is tired by the transfer, and the judge said said he did not want to interrogate him. But he has said he wishes to express himself later and he will do so.” | “He said today that he would rather not answer questions because he is tired by the transfer, and the judge said said he did not want to interrogate him. But he has said he wishes to express himself later and he will do so.” |
| Abdeslam was officially put under investigation on a series of charges including terrorist murder, complicity in a terrorist organisation, the holding and use of arms and explosives, and sequestration, relating to hostages held at the Bataclan concert hall. | |
| Related: Paris and Brussels: the links between the attackers | Related: Paris and Brussels: the links between the attackers |
| After appearing before the investigating magistrate, he faced a second judge for a decision on the conditions of his custody. Abdeslam is to be held in isolation in the high-security prison Fleury Mérogis, 20 miles south of Paris. | |
| Abdeslam is suspected of being the logistical mastermind behind the shootings and suicide bombings in November 2015. He is alleged to have rented and paid for several apartments used by the attackers. He left three suspects at the Stade de France, where they blew themselves up. Abdeslam is believed to have backed out of killing himself, dumping his explosive belt in a rubbish bin in northern Paris. | |
| After the Paris attacks, Abdeslam is said to have called two friends who drove from Brussels to Paris to pick him up and take him back to Belgium, where he went into hiding. | After the Paris attacks, Abdeslam is said to have called two friends who drove from Brussels to Paris to pick him up and take him back to Belgium, where he went into hiding. |
| After a four-month manhunt by police, Abdeslam was shot in the leg and arrested during a raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels on 18 March. | After a four-month manhunt by police, Abdeslam was shot in the leg and arrested during a raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels on 18 March. |
| A few days later, terrorists attacked Brussels airport and the city’s metro system. Investigators are looking into whether those bombings were a response to Abdeslam’s arrest. | A few days later, terrorists attacked Brussels airport and the city’s metro system. Investigators are looking into whether those bombings were a response to Abdeslam’s arrest. |
| Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the series of bombings and shootings in Paris, which killed 130 people and left 349 injured, and the attacks in Brussels, where three suicide bombers killed 32 people and injured more than 300. | Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the series of bombings and shootings in Paris, which killed 130 people and left 349 injured, and the attacks in Brussels, where three suicide bombers killed 32 people and injured more than 300. |
| Before Abdeslam’s transfer to France, Berton told BFMTV that his client was “anxious to explain himself to a French judge as quickly as possible”. | Before Abdeslam’s transfer to France, Berton told BFMTV that his client was “anxious to explain himself to a French judge as quickly as possible”. |
| “What is important is that he has a fair trial and is convicted for the things he has done and not those he has not. He will probably not express himself today. He will do so in the weeks to come,” Berton said. | |
| Abdeslam’s Belgian lawyer, Sven Mary, said he did not think his client was intelligent enough to have masterminded the Paris attacks. “He’s more a follower than a leader … Salah Abdeslam is a perfect example of the GTA [Grand Theft Auto] generation, who believe they’re living in a video game,” Mary said. | |
| “He and his mates have succeeded in making an entire religion despised. I asked him if he’d read the Qur’an, which I have, and he told me he had read its interpretation on the internet. For simple souls, the net is perfect, it’s all they understand.” | “He and his mates have succeeded in making an entire religion despised. I asked him if he’d read the Qur’an, which I have, and he told me he had read its interpretation on the internet. For simple souls, the net is perfect, it’s all they understand.” |
| Géraldine Berger-Stender, a lawyer for relatives of the victims of the Paris attacks, said they may have to wait five or six years before Abdeslam is brought to trial. | |
| Abdeslam was ordered to return to court on 20 May. | Abdeslam was ordered to return to court on 20 May. |