The charges against them are « attempted murder in a terrorist context » and « carrying illegal weapons in a terrorist context ». Salah Abdeslam and Sofien Ayari will not be present.

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Many barristers have become really famous after accepting to defend criminals in high court cases such as this one. Jacques Vergès, a former French barrister (1924 – 2013) is a perfect example, as he defended Klaus Barbie (Nazi official) and Carlos (a terrorist) and proposed to defend Muammar Gaddafi and Slobodan Milošević.

Although Sven Mary doesn’t have such a résumé, nobody can deny he is now the real star of the Salah Abdeslam’s trial.

Last week: not surprising

The victims’ families were, unfortunately, but not unsurprisingly, disappointed. Salah Abdeslam invoked Allah as his only judge at the beginning of the trial, before adding he had nothing to say to anyone. He then chose not to reappear before the judges anymore, a right guaranteed by the Belgian law.

Sofien Ayari made the same decision last Thursday. This means the trial, which is supposed to reopen next month, will have no standing suspects.

The main focus is then on Sven Mary. This criminal defense lawyer earned celebrity after he accepted to carry the Salah Abdeslam’s case. He also made quite sensitive statements over the last couple of months, but the last hearing on Thursday was probably the most significant one.

What’s the point of defending Salah Abdeslam, as he only trusts in Allah?

Sven Mary stated it is “To give the barbarians who aim to destroy the Rule of law the finger and to show them that Rule of law still stands despite their offenses”.

Sven then kept using provocative rhetoric and pleas, arguing that the proceedings are inadmissible, as a Flemish judge delivered the hearing in French.

One of the last points Sven Mary used was also controversial. Bearing in mind that both suspects are not charged for the Paris attacks but for a shooting on policemen, Sven Mary thinks there is no way to talk of this as a “terrorist act”. Although he stated a shooting has “extreme gravity”, this one did not aim “to destroy the structures of a country as terrorism does”.

Mr. Mary said Abdeslam’s was trying to avoid detection from the authorities. Both the civil parties and the public prosecutor, of course, disagreed with his opinion, arguing both Salah Abdeslam and Sofien Ayari were planning other attacks.

Everyone has the right to be defended; there is no way to question that principle. When a Public Enemy Nr. 1 is charged, her/his barristers always gain attention for doing so. Let’s see where the evolution of the case will take Sven Mary’s arguments, and to which extent he will be able to defend Salah Abdeslam.

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Although Salah Abdeslam did not show any will to cooperate when he was taken before the Belgian judges on Monday, there was still a hope to get him to talk.

Both the families’ victims and the investigators will surely be disappointed, even if they were doubtful about what the only remaning suspect of the Paris attacks in 2015 could have contributed towards intelligence.

Luc Hennart, the President of the Brussels French-speaking Tribunal lower court, published a press released in which he said “It seemed to be important to inform you that Salah Abdeslam informed the Tribunal about the fact that he did not want to appear for the hearing”, which will be held on Thursday. »

Public criticism appeared on Twitter, as several people argued there was no way for Mr. Abdeslam to choose whether he wanted to attend the hearing or not. However, the right to silence is guaranteed by the law, both in France and in Belgium, and the defendant has the possibility not to be present during the trial. His accomplice, Sofiane Ayari, may be the only one present on Thursday.

Salah Abdeslam and Sofiane Ayari are charged with a shooting that took place in Brussels (rue Dries) on 15th March, 2016. Another trial will take place in France later in regards to the Paris attacks. Yesterday, the Public prosecutor, Kathleen Grosjean, called for a 20-year jail sentence for both suspects, for the attempted murder of police officers.

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The beginning of the trial was highly awaited both by the victims’ families of the Paris attacks and the media. Dozens of journalists have been covering this event since it began early this morning.

Abdeslam is the last survivor of the attackers who were responsible for 130 deaths in Paris on November 13, 2015; he was ordered to come to Brussels to answer other criminal charges. After his involvement in the Paris attacks, he returned to Belgium, where he managed to hide out for many months. On March 15, 2016, while police officers were conducting investigations in Rue Dries, they entered a home and were subject to shooting, in which Salah Abdeslam participated. The investigators also found Sofiane Ayari accomplice of such an offense and decided to take them together to the Court.

The trial was due to start on 18 December in Brussels, but it was postponed after Sven Mary, the Salah Abdeslam’s barrister, made an application to postpone. Although Mr. Abdeslam is not supposed to talk about the Paris attacks, this trial is of a major importance. The investigators aim to understand how the attackers and the “teams of death” are/were organized, which can provide significant clues to the investigations on the attacks in Paris. Mr. Abdeslam has always refused to answer questions, but the victims’ families hoped to get some answers.

Both the investigators and the families could, however, be disappointed. It indeed seems Salah Abdeslam will not change his behavior. More precisely, the few remarks he made today do not reflect any will to cooperate. He indeed directly started the audience by saying “I do not want to answer your questions.” after he questioned about his identity.

“I am not scared of you, I trust Allah”, “My silence doesn’t make me a guilty person or a criminal, it is my defense”, he later added. He has used this rhetoric throughout his detainment.

His accomplice, Sofiane Ayari, admitted his role but denied the fact he shot policemen. After they were offered the opportunity to answer some questions, the Public prosecutor, Kathleen Grosjean, spoke. “They are trained, they are fighters, they have been immersed in that for weeks”, she said. With regard to the shooting, Mrs. Grojsean pointed out the exceptional danger the policemen faced. “It is a miracle that there was no dead one”, she added.

For attempted murder of police officers, Mrs. Grosjean called for a 20-year jail sentence for both suspects, the maximum sentence for this offense. The trial will continue in the upcoming days.

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Only survivor of the commandos who killed 130 on November 13, 2015 in Paris, Salah Abdeslam must be temporarily handed over to Belgium during his trial for a shooting in Brussels during his run.

The audience will start at 8.45 am before the Correctional court of Brussels from December 18 to 22. Salah Abdeslam will be judged together with Soufien Ayari – known as the the silent accomplice.

The Brussels judicial authorities aim to judge both Salah and Soufien for the shooting that took place in Brussels (rue Dries) on 15 March 2016, only three days before Abdeslam’s arrestment.

Mr. Abdeslam and Mr. Ayari are suspected of murder attempt and illegal possession of weapons.

The French judicial authorities have accepted to transfer Salah Abdeslam for this trial, but he will go back to France following the Belgian trial.

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