Paris attack suspect appears before judges for first hearing

PARIS - Salah Abdeslam, the surviving suspect of last November's deadly Paris attacks, Friday appeared before a French anti-terror court for a first questioning, local media reported.

Under heavy security, Abdeslam arrived at the Paris main law court to face questioning on his role in the series of shootings and explosions which left 130 victims dead.

The 26-year-old man was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization planning attacks, murder, kidnapping and holding weapons and explosives.

Europe's most-wanted fugitive was arrested in March during a raid in Molenbeek in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Transferred from Belgium to France on April 27, Abdeslam is now in solitary confinement in a high-security prison in Fleury-Merogis, south Paris.

Initially opposing to be sent home, Abdeslam later asked to return home "to explain himself," his defense lawyer Sven Mary said.

According to a Paris prosecutor, Abdeslam had planned to blow himself up on Nov 13 last year at the Stade de France, but changed his mind at the last minute.