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

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 judge, Isabelle Panou, and an anonymous French anti-terrorist police officer were called by the legal teams defending the accused.

Thursday was a disaster for the defence.
The lawyers representing several of the accused - notably Mohamed Abrini, Salah Abdeslam, Farid Kharkhach, Yassine Atar and Ali Oulkadi – saw the images of their clients, carefully constructed over the past seven months, swept away by the torrent of indignation and astonishment expressed by Isabelle Panou.

Seven long months

Madame Panou, who directed the Belgian investigation of the Paris killings, has been here before.

Last September, she testified on the fifth day of the trial, outlining the five-year effort by police in Brussels to unravel the complex international web of links and complicities which led to, and away from, the Paris killings. Most of those who died perpetrating the attacks were Belgian nationals, as are the majority of the accused.

On her first appearance, Panou presented a summary of events which was less clinical than the French version, with more room for doubt and questioning.

If that is what encouraged the defence to recall the witness, they appear to have got it terribly wrong.

Seven months is a long time in justice
A lot has happened in the seven months since Panou's last appearance in this courtroom. And a lot of the evidence contradicts the initial findings of the Belgian investigators who worked under Panou's direction.

Mohamed Abrini, for example, recently told the Paris trial that he had been chosen as an active member of the November killing squads. When he withdrew at the last minute, his suicide vest and place in the frontline were passed to Salah Abdeslam.

Asked to react to these developments, Isabelle Panou said she was "slightly astonished".

"I questioned Mohamed Abrini on eight occasions, " she told the court. "There is certainly some element of truth in his current version of events.

"Given the importance of these attacks, in terms of what was at stake for Islamic State, I don't believe it was as simple as Abrini claims to say farewell to the rest of the attackers and simply walk away."

According to Panou, attacks organiser Abdelhamid Abaaoud would never have chosen a doubtful recruit for such a crucial mission.

"Abrini was a serious candidate, committed to the radical cause, at least since the death of his brother." Souleymane Abrini died in Syria in 2014, fighting for Islamic State.

Mohamed Abrini did not go ahead with his planned role in the suicide attacks, says Panou, "because he's a human being. He came face-tp-face with his destiny. He hesitated." According to the Belgian magistrate, Abrini fled because he knew Abdelhamid Abaaoud would never have let him simply walk away.

A setback for Yassine Atar

Isabelle Panou then dealt a blow to the defence of Yassine Atar. His lawyers have used the content of an audio recording made by terrorist leader Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who died in the 2016 Brussels attacks, to shift the weight of guilt off their client.

Panou was not convinced.
The Belgian police detained Atar because there was serious evidence against him, Panou told the Paris court, adding ironically in reference to the Bakraoui recording: "These people are going to strike Belgium, blow up an airport, the métro. And the last thing they do is thank Yassine Atar!

"Yassine Atar is a man with a lot to hide," according to Isabelle Panou.

Atar's lawyers weren't taking that lying down! "Our client allowed thousands of his personal SMS, WhatsApp and Facebook messages to be included in the evidence before this court, and you tell us he has a lot to hide?" fumed defence lawyer Raphaël Kempf.

"Yes I do," answered Panou dryly.

Solid, trusted Salah Abdeslam

As for Salah Abdeslam, whose image before this court has shifted from hard-line Islamic State militant to lost young man under the influence of a determined older brother, Isabelle Panou's astonishment shifted into even higher gear.

The younger of the Abdeslam brothers was "a long-term radical," the Belgian judge said.

"He was in regular contact with Abdelhamid Abaaoud in Syria, for months, perhaps years.

"Don't dismiss Salah Abdeslam's part in the buying of firework detonators. Even if we don't know what they were intended to be used for, that was surely not anodyne.

"And this is the man who was given the job of bringing at least four of Islamic State's top militants back from Syria. Salah Abdeslam was not nobody. He could be trusted. He was solid."

Kharkhach intimidation claims dismissed

When, finally, Farid Kharkhach rose to claim that he had been intimidated and physically mistreated while being questioned in the presence of Isabelle Panou, the Belgian judge became indignant to the point of levitation.

"I am extremely astonished," she told the court, her voice rising in pitch, the microphone popping under the strain. She categorically and vehemently denied all claims of undue pressure.

"There were lawyers present," she fulminated. "Why did they not complain if their client was being mistreated, unfairly put under pressure?"

According to Farid Kharkhach, that's exactly the problem. He alleges that he was struck by his own lawyer, who wanted him to sign a statement which the witness did not understand.

The trial continues.