A self-proclaimed Isis militant who was allegedly among a squad that terrorised Paris in 2015, killing 130 people, has asked for forgiveness and apologised to the victims during his trial, French media reported.
Salah Abdeslam was part of the group that attacked six restaurants and bars, the Bataclan concert hall and the national soccer stadium, prosecutors say.
He is believed to be the only surviving member of the gang that carried out gun and bomb attacks on the night of 13 November that year.
Prosecutors accuse him of murder, attempted murder and hostage-taking. He has denied the charges and is standing trial before a panel of judges.
“I want to present my condolences and my apologies to all the victims,” he told the court, according to radio France Inter’s website.
“I ask you to hate me with moderation... I ask you to forgive me. It will not heal you, but I know that good words can help, and if this helps even only one of the victims, it will be a victory for me,” France Inter quoted him as saying.
The French national of Moroccan origin told the court in February he had backed out of detonating his explosive vest on the night.
Prosecutors allege that he drove across Europe to collect several would-be attackers who had returned from Syria.
The 32-year-old said the mastermind of the attacks convinced him two days beforehand to join the suicide bombers.
The next day, his brother showed him the cafe in northern Paris where he was meant to detonate himself in a crowd.
“For me, it was a shock. I didn’t know how to react. I showed that I wasn’t ready for that,” the alleged attacker said. “He ended up convincing me.”
He recounted donning an explosive belt. “I enter the cafe, I order a drink,” he said. “I was thinking. I looked at people laughing, dancing. And that’s when I knew that I couldn’t do it.
“I told myself, I’m not going to do it,” he said, adding it was out of “humanity”.
Last month, he had expressed regret that he had not followed through on the attack.
Questioned by his lawyer about his mother and her loss over her older son’s death, the defendant cried, according to French media.
He faces life in prison if convicted on murder charges.
Georges Salines, whose daughter Lola was killed in the Bataclan, was quoted by France-Info radio as saying: “Abdeslam is trying to settle a mountain of contradictions in his head. He’s trying to resolve them, but his path will be long.”
Altogether, 20 defendants have been charged, making it one of the biggest trials in modern French history.
The more than 2,400 civil parties to the case present their final arguments next month, and the verdict is expected on 24 June.
