Presenting his submissions on behalf of terror accused Salah Abdeslam on Thursday at the Brussels Correctional Court, Defence Attorney Sven Mary said he felt he could “have an impact” on the fate of his client. "Why should I still make a plea?" he asked. “To satisfy my ego, which some say is oversized? So as not to dump the work we did over the Christmas holidays into the garbage? To draw attention to myself? Salah Abdeslam said Allah was his only judge and that he was not afraid of you or your penalty, Madam President. What is the use of defending someone who has accepted from the Hereafter the penalty that has not yet been inflicted on him?”
For Sven Mary, Salah Abdeslam is awaiting his fate like a “stoic”.
Abdeslam and Soufien Ayari are on trial for attempted murder in a terrorist context and illegal possession of firearms, following a shootout with police in Rue du Dries in Forest on the 15th of March 2016.
"I think I can have an impact on his fate,” the Defence Attorney said. “Many things need to be said, on the law and on the facts. Unlike Salah Abdeslam, I accept and respect your authority. It is the rampart against barbarity. Procedure must be respected even if it is tough. What is the aim of Islamic State? To bring us back to a wild state. If we allow ourselves to flout procedure, whatever the will of the people, it vindicates those who wish to destroy the rule of law.”
Mary also felt the conclusions he was going to express “will be inaudible to the street”.
The Brussels Times
