Ring of steel at Brussels court for trial of Paris attack suspect
HUNDREDS of armed police are guarding the Brussels court where the trial of Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect behind the November 2015 Paris attacks, opens today following his secret transfer from a prison outside the French capital.
Mr Abdeslam, a French national of Moroccan descent, is being tried on charges of terrorism, possession of weapons and attempted murder during a shoot-out with police in Brussels three days before his arrest in March 2016. He will face another trial in France at a later date for his alleged role in the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.
During the court hearings in Brussels, Mr Abdeslam, 28, is being held at a jail in northern France near the Belgian border from where he can more easily be brought to court by helicopter or road. Hundreds of elite officers will escort him and guard the route.
Another 200 officers are posted inside the court building in case of an attempted attack while security has also reportedly been stepped up across Brussels.
Mr Abdeslam’s capture in Brussels after four months on the run following the slaughter in Paris is believed to have prompted his jihadist cell to bring forward a plan for attacks in the Belgian capital.