--- title: Paris Attacker Salah Abdeslam Remained Silent in Court description: His lawyer said the last known attacker "did not want to say anything" when questioned by the anti-terror judge canonical: https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-20T12:43:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:42:41.426Z article:section: World og:title: Paris Attack Suspect Clams Up at Courtroom Appearance og:description: His lawyer said the last known attacker "did not want to say anything." og:url: https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f4afb70408ec942/6988940b2dce0138739e9263/paris-attacks-lawyer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: France Paris Attacks salah abdeslam frank berton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paris Attack Suspect Clams Up at Courtroom Appearance twitter:description: His lawyer said the last known attacker "did not want to say anything." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f4afb70408ec942/6988940b2dce0138739e9263/paris-attacks-lawyer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paris Attacks Suspect Salah Abdeslam Refuses to Answer Questions in Court  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian May 20, 2016 12:43 PM CUT  Frank Berton, lawyer of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, addresses the media as he arrives at the courthouse In Paris, May 20, 2016. Frank Berton, lawyer of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, addresses the media as he arrives at the courthouse In Paris, May 20, 2016.Christophe Ena—AP  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian May 20, 2016 12:43 PM CUT [Salah Abdeslam](http://time.com/4264598/salah-abdeslam-paris-attacks-brussels-belgium/ "undefined"), the last surviving suspect in [the Paris attacks](http://time.com/4265312/paris-attacks-salah-abdeslam-how-he-was-caught/ "undefined"), [remained silent](https://www.afp.com/en/news/23/paris-attack-suspect-abdeslam-tight-lipped-first-interrogation-lawyer "undefined") during his first court session of questioning by an anti-terror judge Friday, his lawyer said. After the quick hearing, Abdeslam’s counsel Frank Berton told the AFP, “he did not want to say anything.” French authorities had been hopeful Abdeslam would provide information about the Nov. 13 violence that killed 130 and whether there were any others involved with carrying out the attacks, according to the AFP. Abdeslam cited his [right to remain silent](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-20/terror-suspect-abdeslam-interrogated-by-french-judges-afp "undefined") in court Friday morning, but “is prepared to speak at a later date” to explain himself, his lawyer said. Berton added, “We need to give him time.” The Belgian-born suspect remained at large after the attacks until authorities arrested him during a March 18 [raid in Brussels](http://time.com/4264533/paris-attack-salah-abdeslam-brussels/ "undefined"). \[[_AFP_](https://www.afp.com/en/news/23/paris-attack-suspect-abdeslam-tight-lipped-first-interrogation-lawyer "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/"},"headline":"Paris Attacks Suspect Salah Abdeslam Refuses to Answer Questions in Court","datePublished":"2016-05-20T12:43:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:42:41.426Z","description":"His lawyer said the suspect \"did not want to say anything\" when questioned by the anti-terror judge","url":"https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/","keywords":["France","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f4afb70408ec942/6988940b2dce0138739e9263/paris-attacks-lawyer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f4afb70408ec942/6988940b2dce0138739e9263/paris-attacks-lawyer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"France Paris Attacks salah abdeslam frank berton","caption":"France Paris Attacks salah abdeslam frank berton","creditText":"Christophe Ena—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4342878/salah-abdeslam-questions-in-court/","name":"Paris Attacks Suspect Salah Abdeslam Refuses to Answer Questions in Court"}}]}] ```