Brussels Attacks Trial: Salah Abdeslam Alleges Police Misconduct During Transfer

On Wednesday morning, at the opening of the hearing in the Brussels attacks trial, Ms. Delphine Paci stated that her client Salah Abdeslam was assaulted during his transfer from the Haren prison to the Justitia. He denounced the "lack of respect" of certain police officers who do not hesitate to humiliate the accused like him. "At the time of the search, I was asked to look at the wall, I said: it didn’t happen like that yesterday and I asked to see the boss, with whom it goes well. There, the policeman took the initiative to push me, they were three on me," reports La Dernière Heure.

"Mr. Abdeslam was struck on the lip. This is no longer possible," the lawyer said. "We have a major problem of violence with the hooded persons in the box, at least two," she said. But for the federal prosecutor, Ms. Paci made hasty conclusions. He draws the attention of the latter to the presumption of innocence also valid for the police.

The federal prosecutor also explained that the accused did not complain and that he had no trace on his body that could explain acts of violence of which he would have been a victim. "I did not want to address this incident out of modesty at first, not to interrupt the hearing and out of respect for the victims. But the incidents keep repeating themselves, if it’s not with me it’s with someone else," Salah Abdeslam confided.