Attacks of November 13: Belgian radio reveals having interviewed Salah Abdeslam without knowing it, during his f – franceinfo

On November 14, 2015, the day after the Paris and Saint-Denis attacks, Salah Abdeslam fled to Brussels with two accomplices. We already knew that the last living member of the terrorist commando, whose identity was unknown at the time, had been checked by the police without being detained. While the trial of the November 13 attacks will open in Paris, RTBF revealed Monday, September 6 that one of his radio journalists had unknowingly interviewed the terrorist on the same day.

In an article reviewing this fortuitous meeting, the Belgian media explains that its radio journalist Charlotte Legrand was questioning motorists at the Franco-Belgian border about the controls put in place that morning. It was there that she handed the microphone to Salah Abdeslam and his accomplices: “They weren’t particularly sympathetic, but they answered my questions while their IDs were checked.”

The remarks made by Salah Abdeslam, Mohamed Amri and Hamza Attou were broadcast on RTBF: “This one is the third. Third check. Frankly, we found that a little abusive. But we understood a little the meaning of … The why. Afterwards, we knew the why”.

The name of the fugitive and his photo are not released until the next day, and the journalist then explains that she wondered about the possibility of having crossed his path, without recognizing him. But the RTBF says it has consulted a report of a listening to Salah Abdeslam in prison (he was arrested in March 2016 in Brussels) in which he himself recounts the episode. This prompted the station to dig into its archives, and rediscover the interview.

The journalist explains having “experienced some discomfort” and having felt “oddly a little guilty” : “I was worried that I would be accused of having lacked judgment during this interview. ” But she believes that she could not have acted otherwise: “At that time, I simply did not have the elements to recognize Abdeslam. Neither me nor the police “.