Belgium sends top terrorist back to prison in France Shame on American Republicans: Motion to impeach minister fails

Terrorist Salah Abdeslam, who was convicted of the Islamist attacks in Paris and Brussels, will be jailed in France in the future. As the Belgian Public Prosecution Service announced, the Islamist was taken from a prison in Brussels to the Belgian-French border on Wednesday morning. He was then received there by the French authorities.

Abdeslam was sentenced to life imprisonment in France in 2022 for his role in the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015. He was subsequently extradited to Belgium to stand trial for the Islamist terrorist attacks in Brussels in 2016. The now 34- year old was also convicted there for terrorist murders.

Nearly three dozen people were killed in the terrorist attacks on the Belgian capital’s airport and a metro station. 340 were injured. The series of attacks on November 13, 2015 in the French capital killed 130 people and injured 350 others.

Abdeslam had tried several times in the past to prevent his return to a French prison. However, a court rejected his request to remain in a Belgian prison. According to the responsible judge, it could not be sufficiently proven that his human rights were violated in France, as alleged.

Abdeslam’s lawyer Delphine Paci criticized the decision on Thursday as a gross violation of constitutional principles. She also told the German news agency that she did not know in which French prison her client would be locked up in the future.

Abdeslam is believed to be the sole survivor of the Paris terror squad and a key figure in the attacks. Only after months on the run was he arrested in Brussels. According to the investigation, he also had an explosive belt, but it was not functional.

Abdeslam’s older brother Brahim was among the attackers who blew himself up in a Paris bar. The two grew up in the Brussels municipality of Molenbeek, which is known as a refuge for radical Islamists. Salah Abdeslam worked as a mechanic, had a temporary job and was jailed in 2011 for attempted theft.

During the trial in France, he blamed French politics for the attacks in Paris. He answered questions only partially, complaining about prison conditions and glorifying the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), which claimed responsibility for the attacks. (sda/dpa)