last day of hearing for Salah Abdeslam

“Salah Abdeslam reaffirmed that he was not the bloodthirsty monster devoid of humanity that we had wanted to portray”, reports Nathalie Perez, live from the Special Assize Court in Paris. When the president asks him why he kept silent for 5 years, he answers “because I was asked to be quiet”. “Equally enigmatic response when asked why [mercredi 13 avril] he changed his version, saying that his target was not the Stade de France, but a bar in the 18th arrondissement of Paris”says the journalist.

When the president asks him what this bar was, in which he would have given up blowing himself up to save lives, he answers “I do not remember”. “So many answers which do not seem to have convinced the Court, nor the civil parties, shocked even a few seconds ago, when one of their lawyers launched to Salah Abdeslam: ‘since you wanted to save lives, why not ‘didn’t you call the police, you could have avoided this carnage’. After a few seconds of silence, Salah Abdeslam responds “yes, indeed, I grant you”relates Nathalie Perez, from the Special Assize Court in Paris.