Salah Abdeslam “make the show” and “laughs at us”, regrets Thursday March 31 on franceinfo Philippe Duperron, president of the association 13onze15 Fraternité-Vérité and father of a victim of the Bataclan. The day before, Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the November 13 commandos, sometimes asserted his right to silence during a day of hearings at the trial dedicated to the story of the night of November 13, 2015. “If we let him play that game, we put ourselves in the position where we will be victims again because we give him control and we inevitably prepare ourselves for frustrations”believes Philippe Duperron.
franceinfo: In the aftermath of this day of hearing, how do you feel?
Philippe Duperron: Salah Abdeslam made use of his right to silence. It is a recognized right. It is a right that we do not dispute. It is the merit of a fair trial that we have always demanded and of which we are proud. But we cannot say that we remain insensitive to this silence when he himself had announced that he had to make revelations.
“A lot of questions will remain unanswered.”
Philippe Duperron, president of the association 13onze15 Fraternité-Véritéat franceinfo
They were shelled by the president and the civil parties. Moreover, we are convinced that the trial will continue whether they agree, he and the others, to answer the questions put to them, or not. The prosecution case is solid. The Advocate General, who was indeed very upset and very disappointed, took it up point by point. The trial will continue with or without their word.
What can we still expect from someone like Salah Abdeslam who, since the start of this river trial, has continued to make reversals in his behavior?
I think he puts on the show. The Advocate General also said so in his remarks. We put ourselves in his hands, he teased a few days before his speeches and then, he changed hands. In fact, he’s laughing at us. If we let him play that game, we put ourselves in the position of being victimized again as we give him control and inevitably set ourselves up for frustration. We must not give in to this game described by some as perverse.
What answers are families still waiting for?
There are multiple questions. On the Stade de France: how come he arrives late? Why are they ticketless? It all doesn’t make sense. Who provided the money? What did they do at Roissy airport? Did they pick up someone who didn’t arrive? We will never know all that. Why these targets? Why does Abdeslam go to the 18th arrondissement? So there is always a doubt about the veracity and the sincerity of his remarks. Has he really given up on blowing himself up? Or is it a technical failure, as the expert has again demonstrated? To me, that’s a question we don’t really have the answer to.
Some civil parties say they would prefer him to lie rather than not speak because it is a way to play with them. Is it more violence?
Opinions are divided. A certain number think, on the contrary, that it is preferable that he takes refuge in his right to silence, as he does, rather than giving false truths or making assertions such as: “I dropped off my belt at Montrouge but it was I who removed the trigger button and the battery so as not to cause new victims.” Is it believable? Can we believe everything he says? I admit that I have many doubts and I think that on the contrary, some prefer that they keep silent rather than tell stories that are difficult to believe.