Belgian suspect linked to Paris terror attacks to be extradited to France

A man charged with helping Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam escape is to be transferred to France for trial, according to Belgian sources. But Hamza Attou would have to serve any sentence passed in Belgium, a Belgian court ruled Thursday.

Police take Salah Abdeslam to court in Paris AFP

Attou was caught on CCTV driving Abdeslam back to Brussels just hours after the Paris assaults, along with Mohamed Amri who is also in custody in Belgium. 

Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect in the Paris attacks, was arrested in Brussels in  March after four months on the run and is now in France awaiting trial. 

France has requested the extradition of four suspects, including Attou and Amri, charged in Belgium over the Paris carnage. 

The third man is named as Ali Oulkadi, who dropped Abdeslam off at a Brussels address the day after the attacks. 

The fourth man, Mohamed Bakkali, is thought to have played a logistical role in the jihadist cell, notably renting a BMW seen near three safe houses where the Paris attacks were prepared. 

All four men were subject to European arrest warrants issued in late April. 

Seven suspected jihadis on trial in Paris

Meanwhile, seven suspected jihadists, including the brother of one of the suicide bombers in last November's Paris attacks, went on trial in Paris this week. 

The men, from Strasbourg, travelled to Syria at the end of 2013 and returned to France a few months later and were arrested in May 2014.

T they all deny having fought as jihadists while there. 

Among the defendants was Karim Mohamed-Aggad, the brother of Foued Mohamed-Aggad who took part in the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

All seven face charges of criminal association with a view to commit acts of terrorism, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

To read our coverage of the November Paris attacks and their aftermath click here