The lawyers for Salah Abdeslam, the suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, have resigned after saying that their client won’t cooperate with them because he is under 24-hour surveillance.
Abdeslam has kept silent since shortly after his transfer to France in late April, when French authorities put him under 24-hour surveillance at the top security prison where he is being kept, according to The Wall Street Journal. Abdeslam was connected to the Islamic State, the organization behind the Paris attacks and the Brussels attack in March 2016.
"We have both decided to renounce the defense of Salah Abdeslam," attorney Frank Berton said of himself and fellow attorney Sven Mary, the WSJ reported. "It is not an abandonment, it is a resignation. We know, are convinced — and he told us — that he won’t speak and will use his right to remain silent."
Investigators have not yet determined Abdeslam’s specific role in the Paris attacks, although evidence suggests he may have had a planning role and arranged for the attackers’ transportation to the locations of the attacks, according to BBC News. Abdeslam is the only known survivor of the group that planned the attacks.
The lawyers’ intended defense had hoped to explain the circumstances behind the attack and Abdeslam’s radicalization and involvement. “He has to tell us about his journey and his role,” Berton said in regard to their strategy, CNN reported.
The attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015, were the most deadly acts of terrorism in France’s history. Coordinated attacks took place at a Bataclan music venue, at outside cafes, and at the Stade de France.
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