The interrogation of Salah Abdeslam, the main accused in the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris, began this Wednesday, February 9. For two days, he will only be questioned about facts prior to September 2015. He nevertheless spoke strong words today about the fact that his belt did not explode.
“ First I want to say I didn’t kill nobody, I didn’t hurt nobody “Said this Wednesday Salah Abdeslam, 32, the main defendant of the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris and Saint-Denis, before his interrogation on the merits of the case.
” Even a scratch, I didn’t make it “, added the French, in a spontaneous declaration to the special assize court of Paris, before this one does not chain the questions, five months after the opening of the hearing.
” Since the beginning of this affair, I have not ceased to be slandered “Lamented the only surviving member of the commandos, which killed 130 people in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, 2015.
He again claimed his membership of the Islamic State group: “ I am for the Islamic State, I see how Bashar el-Assad treats his people, kills children, innocents. I, the Islamic State, I support them, I love them “, he said, white shirt, short beard under his mask, his hands crossed in front of him.
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In terrorism cases, the sentences handed down are extremely severe “, explained Salah Abdeslam. ” I understand that justice wants to make examples “, but it thus sends a ” message he continued, again insisting he had no blood on his hands.
” In the future, when an individual gets on a subway or a bus with a suitcase filled with 50 kilograms of explosives and at the last moment, he will say to himself “I will backtrack“, he will know that he has no right, otherwise we will lock him up or kill him “warned the main defendant, echoing his own situation.
“I was at an impasse”
The question has arisen since Salah Abdeslam’s defective explosive belt was found after the attacks: did he give up trying to blow himself up, or did the detonator not work?
If the Court this week examines the facts only until the summer of 2015, before the night of November 13, to a question from a lawyer, he still replied: ” We cannot condemn those who have not killed anyone like the head of the Islamic State, maximum sentences, that is not possible. When you’re in solitary confinement, you say to yourself, I should have activated this thing. »
” I’m not the only one talking about reverse, we’ve heard several people say “I am not capable, I changed my mind“ “, he said. ” These people who were there in the terraces (…) I frequented trendy cafes like that. I put on a shirt, I perfumed myself, then go the next day to the same café… “, he continued.
The candidate for suicide operations, There’s bound to be a time when you’re like, “do i do it or not“, it will not burst directly. » « In reality, we say to ourselves “I should have turned this thing on” (..), we tell ourselves “did i do the right thing to backtrack or i should have gone all the way ?” »
The accused finally explained why he had not gone to Syria: Because of the ties I had in Belgium, that is to say my parents, my fiancée, I was at an impasse “, he said, although, at the same time, he recalled that he had his “ brothers in syria “.
He must be caught between two fires, between what he really thinks or at least what he is convinced of, and then the defense strategy of his lawyers. I think there it is
Dominique Kielemoes, vice-president of 13Onze15. His son, Victor Muñoz, died at La Belle Équipe.
“I am not a danger”
Salah Abdeslam has therefore agreed to answer, rather politely, the questions of the court and the president, as noted by our special envoy, Nathanael Vittrant. A balancing act during which he continued to claim to be part of the IS group, and to justify the terrorist attacks, which he describes as military operations.
He refers the responsibility to the French president at the time, François Hollande. ” I am not a danger to society “, he even launched, provoking protests in the courtroom.
Two days of interrogation
Abdeslam’s first questioning on the facts since the start of the trial on September 8 is scheduled for two days. It will only be questioned on the period prior to September 2015.
His mother, sister and ex-girlfriend, who were due to testify on Wednesday, ” won’t come “, indicated the president of the special assize court of Paris, Jean-Louis Périès.
The court will in particular question Salah Abdeslam on his switch to radicalism, he who had a reputation as a “party animal”, a fan of casinos and nightclubs.
He should also be heard on the stay in Syria of his brother Brahim – future killer of the Parisian terraces – at the beginning of 2015, and on his friend Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who will become the coordinator of the Parisian attacks. One ” nice guy “, with whom he had lost contact, he said in February 2015 to the Belgian police.
Salah Abdeslam had remained silent during the investigation, almost constantly. He had spoken once to clear a co-accused, another to launch into a religious tirade.
Since the beginning of the interrogations of the 14 defendants present in court in mid-January, two of them have exercised their right to silence. The Swede Osama Krayem, first, for whom ” this trial is an illusion and who refuses to attend the hearings, then the Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Bakkali. ” My word is always suspect, it has no value “, he explained, resigned, to the court.
With agencies