I am not afraid of you: Sick boast of surviving Paris terror suspect
THE sole surviving suspect of the Paris terror attacks told a Belgian court yesterday: ‘I am not afraid of you.’
Flanked by special forces, Salah Abdeslam, 28, faced charges over a gun battle with Belgian police following the atrocities in November 2015.
Abdeslam will be tried in France later over his alleged role in the jihadist cell behind a wave of attacks on the French capital that killed 130 people.
He refused to stand or answer questions yesterday in the Palais de Justice court in Brussels, and will not talk to his own lawyers. After a few defiant words, he said he would make a silent protest, adding: ‘My silence does not make me a criminal, it’s my defence.
‘Muslims are judged and treated in the worst ways, mercilessly. There is no presumption of innocence, there is nothing.’
The Frenchman, who grew up in Belgium, added: ‘I put my trust in Allah and that’s all.’
Fears have been raised for his mental health after 20 months in solitary confinement under constant video surveillance.
The shootout, in which four police were injured, took place at a Brussels flat on March 15, 2016, following a four-month international manhunt. Gang member Mohammed Belkaid, a 35-year-old Algerian, was shot by police. But Abdeslam allegedly escaped with fellow suspect Sofien Ayari, a 24-year-old Tunisian, who also appeared in court yesterday.
The two, who claim they did not fire at police, were found close to Abdeslam’s family home in Brussels.
They are accused of attempted murder in a terrorist context. Prosecutors want them to be jailed for 20 years.