The last known survivor of the team that carried out last November’s Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, refused to talk during questioning on Friday by anti-terror judges amid frustration at 24-hour video surveillance of his cell, his lawyer said.
The much-awaited questioning session ended abruptly, dashing French authorities’ hopes that Abdeslam would provide clues about the ISIS group’s strategies and what exactly happened in November 2015. Abdeslam’s lawyer, Frank Berton, said his client invoked his right to silence. While Abdeslam didn’t give a direct reason, Berton said he was “disturbed” by 24-hour video surveillance in his maximum-security cell in the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris.
“He can’t bear being watched on video 24 hours a day,” Berton told reporters. “It bothers him, and that doesn’t make him want to collaborate with the judicial investigation.”