France seeks extradition of Paris attacks suspect

BATTLE FOR CUSTODY Saleh Abdeslam will oppose the transfer, his lawyer says

BRUSSELS: Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect of the Paris attacks last November, answered questions from Belgian investigators on Saturday, a day after his arrest but will fight extradition to France, his lawyer said.

Prosecutors said Abdeslam and a second man arrested with him on Friday had been charged with “participation in terrorist murder”.

“He is cooperating with Belgian justice,” his lawyer Sven Mary told reporters outside the judicial police headquarters, adding that Abdeslam, bedridden after being shot in the leg during his capture, admitted being in Paris on Nov. 13.

His elder brother was among the suicide bombers involved in the attacks that killed 130 people.

Mary added that the 26-yearold French national, who was born and raised in Brussels in a Moroccan immigrant family, would refuse the extradition demanded by French President Francois Hollande.

Legal experts said his challenge was unlikely to succeed, but it would buy him more time to prepare his eventual defence.

Having spent his first night in captivity in a Brussels hospital, he will be moved to a high-security jail in the western city of Bruges

as legal proceedings continue. FAMILY RELIEVED

Abdeslam’s family is relieved that he is at least safe, his brother’s lawyer said on Saturday.

“Mohamed Abdeslam, who I have just talked to, asked me to say... in the name of the family, that there is a sense of relief,” Nathalie Gallant told RTBF television.

“Firstly, because Salah was taken alive — the family had hoped so. Relief, that finally the manhunt is over because you must understand the family has been under constant pressure for the past four months,” Gallantsaid.