Abdeslam, who was arrested in Belgium last month after four months on the run, was wanted in France for his role in the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 victims.
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Abdeslam had been held in a prison in the Belgian town of Bruges and also charged over the Brussels attacks related to a shootout with police in an apartment in southern Brussels.
Salah Abdeslam the chief suspect behind the Paris attacks who remains alive left prison in Belgium on Tuesday night to be transferred to a jail in France, where he is expected to be charged on Wednesday.
JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images Salah Abdeslam’s attorney Frank Berton said his client is “eager” to face prosecution related to the Paris attacks. He added: “What is important is that he has a fair trial and is convicted for the things he has done and not those he has not”.
Abdeslam is believed to have played a role in organizing and planning the Brussels terror attacks before his arrest, authorities have said, but his lawyer has insisted that he was “not aware” of any plans to attack the European Union’s capital.
Abdeslam, a key suspect in last November’s Paris attacks, was captured in March in Brussels after a months-long manhunt.
In a lengthy interview published on Wednesday, Mary described his client as a “little moron from Molenbeek, more a follower than a leader”.
Mary said Abdeslam had admitted that he had read an interpretation of the Muslim holy book on the internet – not the text itself. He rented cars and at least one safe house, bought material used to make explosives, and drove across Europe to pick up other suspects.
Salah Abdeslam is suspected of being involved in the attacks.
Brussels police are pictured dragging Salah Abdeslam out of a building in mid-March with a hood over his head.
Prosecutors believe he was in charge of logistics for the coordinated series of attacks on Paris cafes, the Bataclan and the national stadium, which were planned in Brussels. “That’s vital because he is the sole survivor”, he told BFM TV.
Abrini was also found to be linked to the Paris attacks after being caught on video at a motorway gas station with Abdeslam.
The quick, secret transfer surprised even Abdeslam’s lawyer in France, who rushed from Lille to join his client at the Palace of Justice, arriving in the early afternoon.
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Isis’ initial claim of responsibility listed an attack in the district that never materialised, and a suicide vest later found in a bin in Montrouge fuelled speculation that Abdeslam had violated orders and fled.
