Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the series of Paris terrorist attacks. (Source: europe1.fr)

Belgian prosecutors have charged Salah Abdeslam with "participation in terrorist murders" and "participation in a terrorist group." An accomplice arrested with Salah Abdeslam, Amine Choukri, has also been charged with similar crimes.

Of the three family members who sheltered Salah Abdeslam, the apartment owner Abid Aberkan was charged with "participating in a terrorist group" and "hiding criminals", a woman named Djemila M. was charged with "hiding criminals", and the fifth suspect, Shine A., was released.

At a press conference on the afternoon of March 19 in Paris, Paris prosecutor François Molin said that during the first hours of questioning, Salah Abdeslam confessed that he had been in Paris on the evening of November 13, had released three suicide bombers at the Stade de France stadium before going to the 18th district; he had wanted to "blow himself up at the Stade de France stadium" but then "put the car in reverse."

Prosecutor François Molin has warned the press to be cautious with these statements because they are unverified and there are still many grey areas. Many questions have been raised about why Salah Abdeslam "put himself in reverse" without detonating his suicide belt, why he went to the 18th arrondissement and left his rented black Renault Clio there, and why he left his explosive belt in a trash bin in the city of Montrouge, south of Paris. How does this contradict the statement of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group, because when IS claimed responsibility for the November 13 attacks, it mentioned the attack in the 18th arrondissement, but in fact that attack did not happen.

Prosecutor François Molin also stressed that suspect Salah Abdeslam also appeared to have a "central role" in "forming the group of suicide bombers" on November 13, in preparing the logistics and finally in Salah Abdeslam himself being present in Paris on November 13. In addition, between the summer and autumn of 2015, Salah Abdeslam also traveled a lot in Europe in a rented car. Salah Abdeslam was present in Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and France.

Prosecutor François Molin also said the arrest of Salah Abdeslam was a "significant achievement" for the investigation, although investigations continued in France and Belgium to identify those who were directly or remotely involved in the series of terrorist attacks in Paris.

As Salah Abdeslam is the subject of a European arrest warrant, he must be extradited to France within three months. However, Salah Abdeslam's lawyer, Sven Mary, said his client is opposed to being transferred to France, saying he wants to cooperate with Belgian authorities. After the interrogation, Salah Abdeslam was taken by Belgian police to a special detention center in Bruges, where he is being held under strict conditions.

According to Vietnam+