Abdelhamid Abaaoud – Eye on Islamism

Islamic State supporter ‘hero-worshipped’ mastermind of 2015 Paris attacks, court told Walid Saadaoui is accused of preparing a terrorist attack by making plans for an attack, conducting reconnaissance and arranging the purchase and delivery of firearms.

October 9, 2025 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) An Islamic State supporter was said to have “hero-worshipped” the mastermind of the 2015 Paris attacks, a court has heard. Walid Saadaoui, 38, of Abram, Greater Manchester, is accused along with Amar Hussein, 52, of preparing a terrorist attack by […]

Life sentence upheld for Paris train attacker

December 8, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A Moroccan man sentenced to life in prison for an attempted terror attack on a Paris-bound train in 2015 that was foiled by passengers had his appeal rejected Thursday by a French court. Their heroics were later immortalised in the Clint […]

The difficult search for truth at France’s biggest terror trial

June 27, 2022 Anne-Sophie Lasserre, Alain Jean-Robert, Marie Dhumieres and Adam Plowright

(AFP) During the nine-month trial stemming from France’s worst ever terror attacks in November 2015, the moment hundreds of victims were hoping for came late in proceedings. “I’m going to explain myself because it’s the last time that I’ll have the opportunity […]

Prosecution tag team puts stranglehold on hopes of ‘second-rank’ accused

June 10, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) At the Paris attacks trial, the three co-prosecutors continued their summary of the evidence they believe is more than sufficient to see each of the accused suffer the harshest penalties permitted by law. They are relentless. Camille Hennetier, Nicolas Braconnay […]

Three days to explain why a man deserves life in prison

June 9, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The November 2015 Paris attacks trial took another crucial step towards judgement on Wednesday with the beginning of the final presentation of the case by the prosecution. On Friday, the three co-prosecutors will demand the sentences they believe each of […]

Survivors and victims’ families tell of Paris attacks trauma

May 21, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Friday’s session at the Special Criminal Court, where the Paris terror trial is taking place, continued to hear testimonies of the families of victims. They were followed at the bar by families who lost their homes and belongings in the […]

Belgium trial for alleged accomplices of 2015 Paris attacks

April 15, 2022 Matthieu Demeestere

(AFP) Fourteen people charged as accomplices to jihadists who carried out deadly bomb and gun attacks in Paris in 2015 will go on trial in Belgium from Tuesday. Proceedings will take place under high security in NATO’s former headquarters and are expected […]

Anger in Paris court as terrorist Abdeslam asks for chance to start his life over

April 15, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) For the second day at the Paris attacks trial, evidence from surviving terrorist Salah Abdeslam dominated proceedings. Less sure of himself on Thursday, in the face of relentless questioning, Abdeslam finally asked for forgiveness and a second chance. That provoked […]

Salah Abdeslam breaks silence to explain his role in 2015 Paris attacks

April 14, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Surviving Paris attacks terrorist Salah Abdeslam on Wednesday surprised the special criminal court in Paris by agreeing to answer questions about his specific mission on 13 November 2015. While zones of doubt and mystery remain, Abdeslam did provide new information […]

Paris attacks suspect says he changed his mind at last moment

April 13, 2022 Anne-Sophie Lasserre, Alain Jean-Robert and Marie Dhumieres

(AFP) The last surviving suspected assailant in the deadly 2015 Paris attacks told a court Wednesday that he changed his mind about going through with the killings at the last moment. “The objective I was given was to go to a cafe […]

The testimony of a courageous woman who no longer exists

April 9, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) On Friday the Paris special criminal court, where those suspected of complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks are being tried, heard evidence from a remarkable woman who saved many lives, at the cost of her own identity. A blurred […]

Paris attacks accused lose ground as their own witnesses fail to deliver

April 8, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Two witnesses appeared on Thursday at the special criminal court in Paris, where 20 men are being tried for their alleged complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in and around Paris. Both the Belgian investigating […]

Who did what in the wake of the Paris killings?

April 6, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) After last week’s striking reconstitution in sounds and images of the Bataclan massacre, the Paris special criminal court has moved on to consider the post-attack activities of the sole surviving perpetrator and his alleged accomplices. This week’s hearings have focused […]

Prime Paris attacks suspect insists on right to silence but manages to say a lot

March 31, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Wednesday was eagerly anticipated as a crucial day at the Paris attacks trial. Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the suicide killers who murdered 130 people on the night of 13 November 2015, was to give his version of what […]

Paris attacks survivors disappointed again as evidence falls short of clear explanation

March 30, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) On Tuesday, the Paris attacks trial focused on the case of Mohamed Abrini, one of the passengers in the three-car “convoy of death” which brought the killers to Paris on 12 November 2015. At the last moment, Abrini decided that […]

Why Belgium is still a terror risk

March 28, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Brussels Times) Six years ago, it felt like extremist terrorism would haunt us permanently. The March 2016 bombs in the Brussels metro and airport left 35 people dead. They came after the November 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 138. Jihadists claimed […]

Chilling countdown as Belgian terror investigators describe ‘convoy of death’

March 25, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) At the special criminal court in Paris, where those suspected of complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks are being tried, police on Thursday described the hours leading up to the atrocities that cost 131 people their lives. There were […]

Did the November 2015 Paris killers plan to strike a wider range of targets?

March 24, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Wednesday’s hearing at the Paris terror trial was devoted to the content of a computer found in a bin in Brussels. According to the Belgian police investigator who presented the evidence, it is clear that the November 2015 attacks were […]

Second interrogation of Paris terror suspects reaches unsatisfactory end

March 23, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Tuesday’s session at the special criminal court brought an end to the questioning of the accused on their alleged roles in the preparation of the November 2015 terrorist attacks. There were two witnesses, Mohamed Abrini and Mohammed Bakkali. One talked […]

Confusion and contradictions as Ali El Haddad Asufi takes the stand

February 12, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Four weeks of testimony from and about the Paris attacks accused ended on Friday with evidence concerning Ali El Haddad Asufi, suspected of having provided weapons for the terrorists who killed 130 people in Paris on the night of 13 […]

Meaningless media frenzy greets Abdeslam who takes the stand to say nothing new

February 10, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) On Wednesday, the Palais de Justice in central Paris was invaded by hordes of journalists anxious to report on the testimony of Salah Abdeslam, brother of one of the suicide bombers, and the sole survivor of the attack teams who […]

Second man accused of complicity in Paris attacks invokes right to silence

January 27, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) A second of the 14 men accused of complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks has told the special criminal court that he will no longer make statements or answer questions. “I have already been condemned for something I did […]

Paris attacks accused Mohamed Abrini shrugs off damning evidence

January 13, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Wednesday’s testimony from Mohamed Abrini, who is charged with complicity in the Paris attacks, focused on the suspect’s 2015 journey from Belgium to the Islamic State heartland in Syria, and his return via London, Birmingham, Manchester and Paris. According to […]

First suspect takes stand in Paris attacks trial

January 11, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) The main defendant in France’s marathon trial for the November 2015 Paris attacks was back in the dock Tuesday, as the questioning of suspects resumed following a weeks-long Covid delay. Salah Abdeslam is the only survivor among the 10 assailants who […]

Moroccan acquitted on terror charge wins Polish court battle

December 21, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Poland’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a Moroccan man who had been acquitted of being an accomplice of the suspected mastermind of the 2015 terror attacks in Paris. Prosecutors had appealed against the acquittal and had requested a six-and-a-half-year […]

Paris attacks ‘could happen again tomorrow,’ warns veteran anti-terror cop

December 18, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Patrick Calvar spent 25 years of his policing career fighting terrorism. He was head of the French Interior Security Division between 2012 and 2017. On Friday, he told the special criminal court trying those suspected of complicity in the November […]

Dope, drinks and dangerous propaganda: A glimpse inside the Abdeslam brothers’ café

December 17, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Only two of the three witnesses called on Thursday actually gave evidence. Both were associates of the Abdeslam brothers at their café in Brussels. Both spoke by videolink from the federal police building in the Belgian capital. Neither had much […]

This week in court: Families of terrorists follow Belgian police in search for answers

December 12, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) There was another shift in the atmosphere at the special criminal court in Paris this week. The televised evidence from anonymous Belgian police investigators came to an end, and real witnesses once again appeared at the bar. They were no […]

The Abaaoud family, collateral victims of the violence of a terrorist son

December 10, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) At the Paris terror trial, the Belgian police on Thursday finally came to the end of this phase of their evidence, leaving the bar to [family] members of the dead terrorists, and other accused who are prepared to testify. The […]

Court probes the backgrounds of two minor Paris attacks players

December 9, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) Wednesday’s session of the Paris terror trial was devoted to Belgian police evidence on the backgrounds of Abdellah Chouaa and Ali Oulkadi, two of the accused who are not in police custody and who sit near, but not inside, the […]

Abdeslam lawyer mocks Belgian police, insists on her right to criticise incompetence

December 8, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) At the special criminal court in Paris where 20 men are being tried for their alleged involvement in the November 2015 terrorist killings, Tuesday’s hearing featured the resumption of Belgian police evidence from Brussels. The careers of two of the […]

Belgian police testimony on terror suspect leaves crucial questions unanswered

December 1, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The Paris attacks trial resumed on Tuesday with police evidence from Brussels on the background and Syrian activities of Mohamed Abrini. Abrini did not hear what was said about him, since he is one of five accused who continue to […]

Belgian police on defensive as Paris court unites to condemn ‘lack of cooperation’

November 27, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The official aim of Friday’s session of the Paris attacks trial was to hear evidence from Belgian police investigators on the backgrounds of two of the dead terrorists and one other suspect. The hearing was, however, marked by the refusal […]

Bulgaria approves transfer of terrorism convict to Belgium

November 22, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A Bulgarian court on Monday authorised the transfer of a man convicted of terrorism to Belgium, where he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison in 2015. Yassine Lachiri was arrested in Bulgaria on November 10 after entering the […]

The cruelty behind the Islamic State’s overseas terrorist operation

November 19, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The Paris attacks trial on Thursday heard from two police witnesses. The first explained the way in which Islamic State organised its overseas terrorist operations. The second outlined the grisly career of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the Paris killers, himself […]

Belgium terrorism convict arrested in Bulgaria

November 11, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A man convicted of terrorism in Belgium has been detained as he entered Bulgaria through its southeastern border with Turkey, prosecutors announced Thursday. Border police and state security agents intercepted the man on Wednesday in a special operation, the prosecution said […]

Ex-president Hollande to testify in Paris attacks trial

November 9, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Former French leader Francois Hollande will testify Wednesday in the trial over the November 2015 Paris terror attacks, facing questions over how a jihadist commando was able to evade detection while preparing the atrocities that would shake France to its core. […]

The changed face of Salah Abdeslam, former ‘soldier of Allah’

November 3, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The rhythm and atmosphere at the Paris attacks trial changed dramatically on Tuesday, with the opening of the examination of the personalities of the accused. Since the 14 men before the court testify in alphabetic order, Salah Abdeslam, the sole […]

Suspects in Paris attacks on stand after victims’ testimony

November 2, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AP) The lone survivor of the cell of Islamic State group extremists who attacked Paris in November 2015 came under public questioning Tuesday for the first time in France, describing a close family life and his neighborhood acquaintance with many of the […]

Mistakes and misunderstandings at the mortuary added to the misery of the bereaved

September 24, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The eleventh day of the Paris court hearing into the terrorist attacks which killed 130 people in the French capital in November 2015 was devoted to the medical machinery which handled the bodies of the victims, and the frequently inadequate […]

The Paris attacks seen through the eyes of Belgian investigators

September 15, 2021 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) The director of the investigation into the Belgian links to the November 2015 Paris attacks told the court on Tuesday that it was “the toughest case” she had ever worked on. She also praised the exceptional collaboration between France and […]

Belgian MP condemns intelligence failure that led to death of Paris attack ‘mastermind’ Authorities have failed to learn the lessons of the radicalisation of a key planner of the deadly terrorist strikes in 2015

September 8, 2021 Paul Peachey

(National-UAE) A Belgian politician who investigated the suspected mastermind of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks said mistakes have been repeated that have left youngsters at risk from dangerous radicalisers in their communities. Belgian-Moroccan citizen Oussama Atar is believed to have been killed […]

France’s biggest trial to open over November 2015 attacks

September 5, 2021 Anne-Sophie Lasserre

(AFP) The biggest trial in France’s modern legal history begins on Wednesday over the November 2015 attacks on Paris that saw 130 people slaughtered at bars, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall. The suicide bombing and gun assault by three teams of […]

Brussels court goes easy on man who helped Thalys terrorist

June 12, 2021 Alan Hope

(Brussels Times) A man who helped the Thalys terrorist Ayoub El Khazzani to make contact with Islamic State in Syria in 2015 has been found guilty but allowed to go free by a court in Brussels. Yazan K., now aged 27, was […]

Italy arrests ‘forger’ over links to 2015 Paris attack

March 8, 2021 Alexandria Sage

(AFP) Italian police said Monday they had arrested a 36-year-old Algerian on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State group and helping the authors of the November 2015 Paris attacks. The man, identified by La Repubblica newspaper as Athmane Touami, is alleged […]

French court jails Moroccan for life over foiled 2015 train attack

December 17, 2020 Marie Dhumieres

(AFP) A French court on Thursday jailed for life a Moroccan man who planned a terror attack on a Paris-bound international train in 2015 but was thwarted by passengers including off-duty US soldiers. The Paris court convicted Ayoub El Khazzani, now 31, […]

Trial over deadly Paris jihadist attacks to begin late 2021

December 11, 2020 Unlisted Author

(AFP) The trial of 20 people charged over the November 13, 2015, jihadist attacks in Paris that were France’s deadliest peacetime atrocity will get underway in late 2021, sources close to the case and prosecutors said on Friday. The night of carnage […]

French Thalys train attacker ‘tried to kill me three times’

December 4, 2020 Unlisted Author

(BBC) One of three Americans hailed as heroes for overcoming a gunman on a train travelling to Paris has told a French court his main aim was to survive. Spencer Stone, a 28-year-old ex-serviceman, described via video from the US how he […]

Paris train gunman tells trial he was looking for US soldiers

November 25, 2020 Marie Dhumieres

(AFP) The Moroccan gunman on trial for an attempted terror attack on a Paris-bound train five years ago said Wednesday he had aimed at the heads of American soldiers but could not shoot. On August 21, 2015, after drinking a coffee at […]

American passenger recalls trying to kill train attacker

November 20, 2020 Elaine Ganley

(AP) One of three Americans acclaimed as heroes for tackling an alleged Islamic State gunman aboard a Paris-bound train testified Friday that he tried to kill the man who stormed into their passenger car with an arsenal of weapons. Alek Skarlatos, 28, […]