"Mr. President, Gentlemen and Ladies of the court. Today, I wish to make use of my right to silence".
It is with these words that Salah Abdeslam, the main accused in the trial of the attacks of November 13, began, Wednesday, March 30, the hearing which was to be devoted to his interrogation on the evening of November 13, 2015.
"Well, I'm going to ask questions and I won't get any answers, right?" said President Jean-Louis Périès.
"Yes, that's it," replied the accused, dressed all in black, in a calm voice.
“For what reasons?” insists the president, taken aback and disappointed by the attitude of the accused.
"You were sometimes provocative, I told you, but you were able to have understanding remarks with regard to the victims", he explains to Abdeslam.
"There are many reasons not to speak. It is also so that I am not called a provocateur that I no longer wish to express myself. It is my right, I do not have to justify myself" , responds the accused in a calm and clear voice.
The right to silence, “it is a right that I have and I do not wish to give explanations”, he continues.
"I made an effort, I kept silent for six years. Then I changed my mind, I spoke to the victims with respect. Today, I no longer want to express. I can't do it anymore," he said before sitting down on his bench.
(AFP)
In Paris, the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 begins on September 8 © Studio Graphique de France Médias Monde
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