News / EU

Prime suspect in Paris attacks extradited to France

Wednesday, 27 April 2016 1:11 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 27 April 2016 1:12 PM ]

This file photo taken on October 29, 2015 shows a prison officer closing the gate to a hallway to prison cells at the Fleury-Merogis prison, south of Paris where Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam will be held. (AFP photo)

Belgium has extradited to France the main suspect in Paris attacks that claimed the lives of 130 people in November last year.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Salah Abdeslam, 26, was arrested after arriving in Paris at 9:05 a.m. (0705 GMT) on Wednesday and is scheduled to face charges later in the day.

"He will be presented to judges during the day with a view to being charged," the prosecutor said in a statement.

Abdeslam had been transferred to the French capital under tight security, according to sources close to the investigation.

France’s Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said the suspect would be placed in solitary confinement in a Paris area.

He added that "hardened guards trained in the detention of persons believed to be dangerous" will monitor Abdeslam.

On November 13, 2015 Daesh launched a series of attacks in Paris, killing a total of 130 people. Investigations into the incident revealed that the perpetrators were mostly Belgium-based.

Abdeslam was arrested on March 18 after a shootout in Belgium’s capital, Brussels. He is a French national of Moroccan descent who was raised in Belgium and is believed to be the last surviving complicit in the Paris attacks.