The prime suspect of the Paris attacks 'wants to cooperate' with French authorities

Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam wants to cooperate with French authorities, his lawyer said Thursday, confirming that his client wanted to be extradited from Belgium to France.

"He wants to cooperate with the French authorities," lawyer Cedric Moisse said, as a prosecutor was set to travel to the prison in the city of Bruges where Abdeslam has been held since March 18 for an extradition hearing.

Abdeslam has not spoken to investigators since Brussels was hit by suicide bombs at the airport and a metro station last week. He has links to several of those involved in the attacks on the Belgian capital. 

Abdeslam is the key suspect in the Paris attacks and was arrested in the Molenbeek district of Brussels on Friday, March 18. He had been on the run since last November, after the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and left hundreds wounded. 

Abdeslam's lawyer had previously said that Abdeslam would fight extradition to France, but he changed his mind following the Brussels bombings last week, that killed over 30 people and injured more than 250, and asked to be extradited as soon as possible. 

An audience is to be held on Thursday afternoon, during which the council chamber of Brussels will decide whether Abdeslam will be handed over to France. French authorities had, through a European arrest warrant, asked Belgium to send the terror suspect back to France where investigators are waiting to interrogate him about the November 13 attacks. 

The extradition was supposed to be done smoothly and quickly, as the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel said that there were no political objections.

But now, Abdeslam is considered to be involved in the Brussels attacks, as although he was incarcerated at the time, the attackers might not have been able to carry out the attacks without his help, which under Belgian law makes him co-perpetrator, Belgian newspaper Le Soir reports. 

Abdeslam could therefore be charged in Belgium, which could stand in the way of his extradition to France.