'Abdeslam transferred to France to avoid release'
Convicted terrorist Salah Abdeslam, previously found guilty of involvement in the 2015 Paris attacks as well as the 2016 Brussels attacks, has been transferred from Belgium to a prison in France to prevent his release, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Abdeslam left Haren prison in Brussels in the morning to be taken to the border, where he was handed over to the French authorities. This decision was based on an agreement between France and Belgium, according to which Abdeslam would only be transferred to Belgium "for the duration of the Belgian trial", the prosecutor's office said.
In addition, there was a risk that Abdeslam would have to be released as Belgium would no longer have the legal basis to keep him in custody. This option was "unthinkable", the prosecutor said.
To ensure the presence of Abdeslam at the trial over the attacks of 22 March 2016 in Belgium, the Belgian judicial authorities had issued a European arrest warrant for France. In response to this request, the Paris Court of Appeal decided to hand him over temporarily to Belgium for the duration of the Belgian trial.
'Legally irrevocable'
The agreement does not provide for Abdeslam to remain in Belgium for the purposes of other civil proceedings, the federal prosecutor's office said. "Salah Abdeslam's return to France at the end of the criminal proceedings is therefore legally irrevocable," the statement said.
In September 2023, Abdeslam was found guilty of terrorist murder for his involvement in the 2016 attacks on Brussels airport and a Brussels metro station, which left 32 people dead. However, he did not receive an additional sentence. The Brussels court cited the sentence he had already received for his role in the 2015 Paris attacks.
Salah Abdeslam during the trial surrounding the attacks of 22 March 2016 in Brussels © BELGA ILLUSTRATION JONATHAN DE CESARE
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