Paris attacker too defiant as trial starts

Brussels : The only surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, defied Belgian judges on Monday and said he put his “trust in Allah” on the opening day of his trial for a shoot-out that led to his capture.

The 28-year-old, who was transferred under heavy security from a jail near the French capital overnight for the trial, refused to answer questions about the gun battle in Brussels or stand for the court.

“I am not afraid of you, I am not afraid of your allies,” said a defiant Abdeslam, who has grown long hair and a beard during his nearly two years behind bars. “I put my trust in Allah and that’s all.”

The Belgian-born French national of Moroccan descent alleged that the court in Brussels was biased against Muslims as he explained why he would not cooperate despite having asked to attend the trial.

“My silence does not make me a criminal, it’s my defence,” Abdeslam said. “Muslims are judged and treated in the worst of ways, mercilessly. There is no presumption of innocence.”

He also refused to allow photographs or video images to be taken of him.

He has point-blank refused to speak to investigators since his arrest in Brussels March 2016, three days after the gun battle in the Forest district of the city for which he is on trial.

Abdeslam and Sofiane Ayari, a 24-year-old Tunisian arrested with him, face charges of attempted terrorist murder of police officers and carrying banned weapons.

Three police officers were wounded and an Algerian fellow jihadist was killed.

The pair face 40 years in prison if convicted.

Abdeslam’s arrest ended four months on the run as Europe’s most wanted man following the November 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, and in which his brother Brahim carried out a suicide bombing.