Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrived at a court in the French capital on Wednesday where he was to be grilled by investigating judges following his extradition from Belgium.
Abdeslam, a French national of Moroccan origin who grew up in Belgium, is believed to be the last surviving member of the terror squad that killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.
His French lawyer, Frank Berton, told regional newspaper Voix du Nord that his client was “anxious to explain himself” in France. He said he had spoken to Abdeslam only once and had found him “very despondent”.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the 26-year-old was formally placed under arrest after arriving on French soil at 9.05 am. “He will be presented to judges during the day with a view to being charged,” Mr Molins said in a statement. At around 11 am, Abdeslam arrived at Paris’s main courthouse in a convoy of four cars carrying heavily-armed security forces wearing balaclavas. He was still there some five hours later. Justice minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said the suspect would be placed in isolation in a prison in the Paris region and monitored by “hardened guards trained in the detention of persons believed to be dangerous”.
Sources close to the investigation said he would be sent to the over-crowded prison of Fleury-Merogis, Europe’s biggest jailhouse.
Jean Reinhart, a lawyer for about 30 families of the attack victims, hailed the extradition, saying “justice is on its way”.
“He knows a lot of things. He has made a lot of statements that he would talk, I hope he stays in that state of mind,” said Georges Saline, whose daughter was killed at the Bataclan concert hall along with 89 others. Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels on March 18 after four months on the run as Europe’s most wanted man. Prosecutors believe he was in charge of logistics for the coordinated series of attacks on Paris cafes, the Bataclan and the national stadium, which were planned in Brussels. Abdeslam rented the cars that the Islamic State group squad used to travel to Paris.
