Trial of the November 13 attacks: nine defendants refuse to appear in solidarity for one of them, who suffers from an eye problem – franceinfo

At the special Assize Court of Paris, the hearing of the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 resumed two hours late, with only two defendants out of eleven. The remaining nine, including Salah Abdeslam, refused to appear on Tuesday May 31. Before the usual summons, they were even ten to refuse to appear.
The defendants absent from the box would, according to lawyers interviewed by AFP, be in solidarity with one of the detainees, the Pakistani Muhammad Usman. Suffering from an eye problem, and already absent from the hearing on Monday for this reason, he “must have a medical follow-up and is impatient with the date of this follow-up”, mentioned President Jean-Louis Périès, without citing his identity, in the name of “medical secrecy”. “Since this morning (…), we have made sure to speed up this appointment,” assured the president. “His refusal to appear is not lighthearted, neither for us nor for him,” assured Muhammad Usman’s lawyer, Edward Huylebrouck. According to him, this refusal to appear was “dictated solely by the fears he may have about his state of health”. “He has been waiting for his second operation for thirteen months, which was to take place within four months.” Muhammad Usman “has been in pain since Friday,” added his advice, asking for “an emergency appointment with a specialist.” “Failing that, we will be forced to seek an expert to see if he is in a condition to appear”, warned Edward Huylebrouck, specifying that his client was “sorry that we have to come to this”. After these explanations, the hearing resumed with a tribute, by lawyers, to the victims killed by the attacks, which left 130 dead in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, 2015.