Trial of 2015 Paris Attacks Suspect Resumes in Brussels in Absence of Abdeslam

11:51 GMT, 8 February 2018

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The trial of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, who is also accused of an attempted killing of policemen in a shootout in Brussels, has resumed in the Palace of Justice in Belgium without the presence of the defendant, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

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On Monday, the Belgian court started the hearing of the case of Abdeslam and his accomplice Sofiane Ayari, charged with the attempted murder of police officers, who conducted a search in a house in the Forest Borough of Brussels on March 15, 2016.

Abdeslam declared that he only recognized the authority of Allah and refused to collaborate with the court. The debates were therefore shorter and the court canceled the second day in court. His defense lawyer, Sven Mary, announced late Wednesday that his client had given him the permission to plead in court on his behalf.

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The French authorities say that Abdeslam would remain "for the moment" in the high security prison of Vendin le Vieil in the North of France. The trial could conclude its debates on Thursday or Friday, as originally intended.

Abdeslam, 28, a Belgian-born French national of Moroccan descent, is suspected of involvement in the series of terror attacks across Paris and its suburb of Saint Denis in November 2015, which left 130 people dead and over 400 injured. He is also accused of having links to the Daesh terror group. After the Paris attacks, Abdeslam managed to leave France for Belgium where he was arrested several months later.