On Friday, the last surviving Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam was arrested in Belgium, but now he’s reportedly planning to sue French officials.
According to the BBC, Abdeslam’s lawyer says he plans to take legal action against a French prosecutor for a breach of confidentiality.
Paris prosecutor François Molins told a packed press conference that Abdeslam had confessed that he wanted to blow himself up during the attacks on November 13, but then changed his mind.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins, with French Christian Sainte,
head of French criminal police, speaking at a press conference
Molins told reporters, “He wanted to blow himself up at the Stade de France and, I quote, backed out,’ adding that people should treat Abdeslam’s initial statement with caution.
He revealed that Abdeslam made the admission within hours of him being taken into custody but, the Guardian reports, barrister Sven Mary has now said that reading out his statement to journalists was an abuse of the judicial process, which should be confidential at this stage.
Speaking to Belgian national news channel RTBF, Mary said:
This is an error that I cannot allow to pass. Reading this out at a press conference is a violation.
The 26-year-old former tram driver is the only surviving member of the 10-strong jihadi Islamic State squad that killed 130 people in the attacks across the French capital four months ago.
Abdeslam is believed to have fled shortly after the attacks last year, returning to the Molenbeek district of Brussels.
Since his arrest, the Belgian authorities have charged him with terrorism offences.
Abdeslam has decided to fight extradition to France, which could take up to three months, although his lawyer noted that his client is co-operating fully with the authorities.
