This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42940636
The article has changed 18 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 6 | Version 7 |
---|---|
Salah Abdeslam: Paris attacks suspect goes on trial in Belgium | Salah Abdeslam: Paris attacks suspect goes on trial in Belgium |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The sole surviving suspect from the 2015 Paris terror attacks has gone on trial at a Belgian court over the gun fight that led to his arrest. | The sole surviving suspect from the 2015 Paris terror attacks has gone on trial at a Belgian court over the gun fight that led to his arrest. |
Salah Abdeslam was escorted by two masked police officers in balaclavas, and refused to stand when requested to. | |
"I do not wish to answer any questions," he said when asked to confirm his identity. | |
Abdeslam has refused to speak to investigators since his March 2016 arrest. | |
Judge Marie-France Keutgen told the court that the suspect had also refused to have photos or video taken of him during the court proceedings. | |
Abdeslam, 28, became Europe's most wanted man after the Paris attacks, where gunmen and suicide bombers targeted a concert hall, stadium, restaurants and bars, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds more. | |
He was captured in Brussels four months after the mass killings. | |
French prosecutors believe Abdeslam played a key role in the attacks, but he is not expected to go on trial in France until 2020 at the earliest. | |
The defendant's brother, Brahim, was among the attackers and died in a suicide blast outside a cafe. | |
The charges he now faces are not related to events in Paris, but to a shootout he had with police while on the run in Belgium. | |
Abdeslam and his suspected accomplice Sofian Ayari, 24, are accused of possessing illegal weapons and the attempted murder of police officers in a terrorist context. | |
The men allegedly fought a gun battle with officers who raided the flat where they were holed up in the Belgian capital. | The men allegedly fought a gun battle with officers who raided the flat where they were holed up in the Belgian capital. |
If found guilty, they face up to 40 years in prison. | |
Abdeslam, a French citizen born to Moroccan parents in Brussels, has been held at a jail near Paris. He left the prison under armed guard in the early hours of Monday, accompanied by tactical police vehicles. | Abdeslam, a French citizen born to Moroccan parents in Brussels, has been held at a jail near Paris. He left the prison under armed guard in the early hours of Monday, accompanied by tactical police vehicles. |
He will return to France every night during the trial, but will be held at another jail just across the border. | He will return to France every night during the trial, but will be held at another jail just across the border. |
Up to 200 police will be guarding the courthouse for the trial, which is expected to last four days. | Up to 200 police will be guarding the courthouse for the trial, which is expected to last four days. |
What happened in the Paris attacks? | What happened in the Paris attacks? |