[CNN] Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam appeared in a Gay Paree courtroom Wednesday but declined to address the charges against him, saying he was exhausted due to his transfer from Belgium earlier in the day.| It's about a four hour drive, and he was relaxing in the passenger seat the entire time. Not to mention it's a trip he's done several times recently. I suspect a ruse. |
| Flying makes it a considerably shorter trip, and in the company of the MPs he would have got to skip security, the lucky duck. |
His next hearing has been set for May 20, according to his French attorney, Frank Berton.
The Belgian-born French citizen, who is charged with participation in terrorist murder and taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization, will be held in solitary confinement under maximum security conditions, French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas told news hounds.
| Allowing him to relax without stressful distractions... |
Marcel Duredon, a union representative at Fleury-Merogis Prison in the southern suburbs of Gay Paree, confirmed to CNN that Abdeslam would be held at that institution.
Abdeslam, the only survivor of the group of men accused of carrying out the November 13 attacks in Gay Paree, was Europe's most wanted man before he was captured last month in Brussels after a shootout with Belgian authorities.
Abdeslam's French attorney, Frank Berton, told BFM that his client "won't stay silent" and said he planned to mount a "defense based on explanation."
"Obviously the line of defense will be to explain things, especially his rather fast radicalization, to explain his acts, what happened moments before the Bataclan attack, what happened at the Stade de La Belle France," he said, referring to two targets in the Gay Paree attacks.
"He has to tell us about his journey and his role."
Abdeslam had to be judged "for what he did, not for what he didn't do," Berton said.
"He has to be judged for what he did, and not for what he represents as the last survivor. He shouldn't carry the burden of acts which are not his."
Sven Mary, Salah Abdeslam's Belgian lawyer, downplayed his client's alleged role in the terror attacks, describing Abdeslam as "more of a follower than leader" and as "smart as an empty ashtray," according to Libération newspaper.
Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a spokeswoman for the French Association of Victims of Terrorism whose cousin was among those killed in Gay Paree, said the extradition was "very important and very emotional."
She said families were desperate for answers, but there was also "a strong risk of disappointment." While Abdeslam has claimed he's prepared to talk, they have doubts about how honest his account will be, she said.
Seeing justice take its course was the most important thing, she said.
"It's a necessary step to continue an essential work of mourning."
Samia Maktouf, a lawyer for the families of 16 of the 130 attack victims, echoed her views.
"It is a first step to knowing the truth. Today, the families are looking to know what happened on November 13, and even though we don't trust Salah Abdeslam to tell the truth, we're still hoping," she said. "It's a kind of relief for them to know he's here."
Last week, Belgian authorities charged Abdeslam with attempted murder over a shootout with police in Brussels days before his capture.
Four coppers were maimed in the March 15 shootout in the Brussels suburb of Forest.
The runaway was captured three days later in Molenbeek, another district of the Belgian capital, in a shootout during which he was shot in the leg.
It ended his four months on the run. Four days later, a terror cell struck at the Brussels Airport and a metro station in the city, killing 32 people.
Investigators have said the same ISIS network carried out the Gay Paree and Brussels attacks.
Abdeslam was born in Brussels and lived there before the Gay Paree attacks.