It is a crucial period of the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 which began on Tuesday March 29 before the special assize court of Paris. The main defendants must speak this week on the days preceding the attacks which left 130 dead in Paris and Saint-Denis as well as on the evening of November 13. Mohamed Abrini, close to Salah Abdeslam, the main accused, was at the helm. Last week, the one who is also known for having abandoned his trolley of explosives during the attacks in Brussels in March 2016, claimed, for the first time, that he was to be part of the terrorist commandos.
“You can remove the mask before speaking”, invites the president of the court. “You’re right. Drop the masks!”launches Mohamed Abrini to set the tone before getting to the heart of the matter. “I confirm what I said. I was scheduled for the evening of November 13. I am sure and certain that I would have been on the terraces”. And the accused unfolds his version of the facts, under the watchful eye of his lawyer.
His meeting with the coordinator of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, three months before the attacks in a hideout in Charleroi, Belgium: “When I see him, he tells me ‘You’re going to be part of an attack project’, but he doesn’t tell me where or when, says Mohamed Abrini. Me, I can’t kill people like that in the street. In my mind, it’s clear. But Abaaoud keeps hope until the end”.
“It’s hard to believe you didn’t know about anything,” launches the accusation, convinced that he knows more than he says. “So why do you accompany them, the terrorists in Paris? Is it because you gave up at the last moment?”. Mohammad Abrini replies: “No, it’s just that I knew it was the last time we would see each other. Me, in my head, I live my last moments with them”. Before letting go in the face of the civil parties, not a little proud that I did not stay. That’s one less terrorist and therefore fewer deaths. It’s math”. Stupor in the room.
Before the special assize court, Mohamed Abrini also long minimized the role of Salah Abdeslam, only surviving member of the commando responsible for the attacks and main defendant in the trial. Salah Abdeslam, childhood friend in Mohamed Abrini’s version. It is because he did not want to participate in the attacks of November 13, 2015 that Brahim Abdeslam recruits his little brother and Salah Abdeslam replaces him. “Brahim? He has a big voice. He said to Salam ‘If you do this thing, you have to do it’. In fact, Salah Abdeslam, he had to go to Turkeycontinues Abrini. He could never have killed. I saw it in his eyes. There are determined looks and others not.”
In the box, throughout the interrogation, Salah Abdeslam is hilarious. He will be heard on Wednesday March 30 on the facts.